,a ,,history ,,of ,,science  ,,by       
,,henry ,,smith ,,williams1 ,m4,d41     
,,ll4,d4  ,,assisted ,,by ,,edward ,h4  
,,williams1 ,m4,d4  ,,in ,,five         
,,volumes   ,,volume ,i4 ,,the          
,,beginnings ,,of ,,science             
,,book ,i4     ,,contents     ,,chapter 
,i4 ,,prehistoric ,,science             
,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,egyptian ,,science    
,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,science ,,of         
,,babylonia ,,and ,,assyria             
,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,development ,,of
 ,,the ,,alphabet     ,,chapter ,v4     
,,the ,,beginnings ,,of ,,greek         
,,science     ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the     
,,early ,,greek ,,philosophers ,,in     
,,italy     ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,greek    
,,science ,,in ,,the ,,early ,,attic    
,,period     ,,chapter ,,viii4          
,,post-,,socratic ,,science ,,at        
,,athens     ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,greek    
,,science ,,of ,,the ,,alexandrian ,,or 
,,hellenistic ,,period     ,,chapter ,x4
 ,,science ,,of ,,the ,,roman ,,period  
,,chapter ,,xi4 ,a ,,retrospective      

,,glance ,,at ,,classical ,,science     
,,appendix     ,a ,,history ,,of        
,,science     ,,book ,i  ,should the    
story that is about to be unfolded be   
found to lack interest1 the writers must
 stand convicted of unpardonable lack of
 art4 ,nothing but dulness in the       
telling could mar the story1 for in     
itself it is the record of the growth of
 those ideas that have made our race and
 its civilization what they are2 of     
ideas instinct with human interest1     
vital with meaning for our race2        
fundamental in their influence on human 
development2 part and parcel of the     
mechanism of human thought on the one   
hand1 and of practical civilization on  
the other4 ,such a phrase as fundamental
 principles may seem at first thought a 
hard saying1 but the idea it implies is 
less repellent than the phrase itself1  
for the fundamental principles in       
question are so closely linked with the 
present interests of every one of us    
that they lie within the grasp of every 

average man and woman--nay1 of every    
well-developed boy and girl4 ,these     
principles are not merely the           
stepping-stones to culture1 the         
prerequisites of knowledge--they are1 in
 themselves1 an essential part of the   
knowledge of every cultivated person4   
,it is our task1 not merely to show what
 these principles are1 but to point out 
how they have been discovered by our    
predecessors4 ,we shall trace the growth
 of these ideas from their first vague  
beginnings4 ,we shall see how vagueness 
of thought gave way to precision2 how a 
general truth1 once grasped and         
formulated1 was found to be a           
stepping-stone to other truths4 ,we     
shall see that there are no isolated    
facts1 no isolated principles1 in       
nature2 that each part of our story is  
linked by indissoluble bands with that  
which goes before1 and with that which  
comes after4 ,for the most part the     
discovery of this principle or that in a
 given sequence is no accident4 ,galileo

 and ,keppler must precede ,newton4     
,cuvier and ,lyall must come before     
,darwin2--,which1 after all1 is no more 
than saying that in our ,temple of      
,science1 as in any other piece of      
architecture1 the foundation must       
precede the superstructure4  ,we shall  
best understand our story of the growth 
of science if we think of each new      
principle as a stepping-stone which must
 fit into its own particular niche2 and 
if we reflect that the entire structure 
of modern civilization would be         
different from what it is1 and less     
perfect than it is1 had not that        
particular stepping-stone been found and
 shaped and placed in position4 ,taken  
as a whole1 our stepping-stones lead us 
up and up towards the alluring heights  
of an acropolis of knowledge1 on which  
stands the ,temple of ,modern ,science4 
,the story of the building of this      
wonderful structure is in itself        
fascinating and beautiful4     ,i4      
,,prehistoric ,,science  ,to speak of a 

prehistoric science may seem like a     
contradiction of terms4 ,the word       
prehistoric seems to imply barbarism1   
while science1 clearly enough1 seems the
 outgrowth of civilization2 but rightly 
considered1 there is no contradiction4  
,for1 on the one hand1 man had ceased to
 be a barbarian long before the         
beginning of what we call the historical
 period2 and1 on the other hand1        
science1 of a kind1 is no less a        
precursor and a cause of civilization   
than it is a consequent4 ,to get this   
clearly in mind1 we must ask ourselves3 
,what1 then1 is science8 ,the word runs 
glibly enough upon the tongue of our    
every-day speech1 but it is not often1  
perhaps1 that they who use it habitually
 ask themselves just what it means4 ,yet
 the answer is not difficult4 ,a little 
attention will show that science1 as the
 word is commonly used1 implies these   
things3 first1 the gathering of         
knowledge through observation2 second1  
the classification of such knowledge1   

and through this classification1 the    
elaboration of general ideas or         
principles4 ,in the familiar definition 
of ,herbert ,spencer1 science is        
organized knowledge4  ,now it is patent 
enough1 at first glance1 that the       
veriest savage must have been an        
observer of the phenomena of nature4    
,but it may not be so obvious that he   
must also have been a classifier of his 
observations--an organizer of knowledge4
 ,yet the more we consider the case1 the
 more clear it will become that the two 
methods are too closely linked together 
to be dissevered4 ,to observe outside   
phenomena is not more inherent in the   
nature of the mind than to draw         
inferences from these phenomena4 ,a deer
 passing through the forest scents the  
ground and detects a certain odor4 ,a   
sequence of ideas is generated in the   
mind of the deer4 ,nothing in the deer's
 experience can produce that odor but a 
wolf2 therefore the scientific inference
 is drawn that wolves have passed that  

way4 ,but it is a part of the deer's    
scientific knowledge1 based on previous 
experience1 individual and racial2 that 
wolves are dangerous beasts1 and so1    
combining direct observation in the     
present with the application of a       
general principle based on past         
experience1 the deer reaches the very   
logical conclusion that it may wisely   
turn about and run in another direction4
 ,all this implies1 essentially1 a      
comprehension and use of scientific     
principles2 and1 strange as it seems to 
speak of a deer as possessing scientific
 knowledge1 yet there is really no      
absurdity in the statement4 ,the deer   
does possess scientific knowledge2      
knowledge differing in degree only1 not 
in kind1 from the knowledge of a        
,newton4 ,nor is the animal1 within the 
range of its intelligence1 less logical1
 less scientific in the application of  
that knowledge1 than is the man4 ,the   
animal that could not make accurate     
scientific observations of its          

surroundings1 and deduce accurate       
scientific conclusions from them1 would 
soon pay the penalty of its lack of     
logic4  ,what is true of man's          
precursors in the animal scale is1 of   
course1 true in a wider and fuller sense
 of man himself at the very lowest stage
 of his development4 ,ages before the   
time which the limitations of our       
knowledge force us to speak of as the   
dawn of history1 man had reached a high 
stage of development4 ,as a social      
being1 he had developed all the elements
 of a primitive civilization4 ,if1 for  
convenience of classification1 we speak 
of his state as savage1 or barbaric1 we 
use terms which1 after all1 are         
relative1 and which do not shut off our 
primitive ancestors from a tolerably    
close association with our own ideals4  
,we know that1 even in the ,stone ,age1 
man had learned how to domesticate      
animals and make them useful to him1 and
 that he had also learned to cultivate  
the soil4 ,later on1 doubtless by slow  

and painful stages1 he attained those   
wonderful elements of knowledge that    
enabled him to smelt metals and to      
produce implements of bronze1 and then  
of iron4 ,even in the ,stone ,age he was
 a mechanic of marvellous skill1 as any 
one of to-day may satisfy himself by    
attempting to duplicate such an         
implement as a chipped arrow-head4 ,and 
a barbarian who could fashion an axe or 
a knife of bronze had certainly gone far
 in his knowledge of scientific         
principles and their practical          
application4 ,the practical application 
was1 doubtless1 the only thought that   
our primitive ancestor had in mind2     
quite probably the question as to       
principles that might be involved       
troubled him not at all4 ,yet1 in spite 
of himself1 he knew certain rudimentary 
principles of science1 even though he   
did not formulate them4  ,let us inquire
 what some of these principles are4     
,such an inquiry will1 as it were1 clear
 the ground for our structure of        

science4 ,it will show the plane of     
knowledge on which historical           
investigation begins4 ,incidentally1    
perhaps1 it will reveal to us           
unsuspected affinities between ourselves
 and our remote ancestor4 ,without      
attempting anything like a full         
analysis1 we may note in passing1 not   
merely what primitive man knew1 but what
 he did not know2 that at least a vague 
notion may be gained of the field for   
scientific research that lay open for   
historic man to cultivate4   ,it must be
 understood that the knowledge of       
primitive man1 as we are about to       
outline it1 is inferential4 ,we cannot  
trace the development of these          
principles1 much less can we say who    
discovered them4 ,some of them1 as      
already suggested1 are man's heritage   
from non-human ancestors4 ,others can   
only have been grasped by him after he  
had reached a relatively high stage of  
human development4 ,but all the         
principles here listed must surely have 

been parts of our primitive ancestor's  
knowledge before those earliest days of 
,egyptian and ,babylonian civilization1 
the records of which constitute our     
first introduction to the so-called     
historical period4 ,taken somewhat in   
the order of their probable discovery1  
the scientific ideas of primitive man   
may be roughly listed as follows3  #a4  
,primitive man must have conceived that 
the earth is flat and of limitless      
extent4 ,by this it is not meant to     
imply that he had a distinct conception 
of infinity1 but1 for that matter1 it   
cannot be said that any one to-day has a
 conception of infinity that could be   
called definite4 ,but1 reasoning from   
experience and the reports of           
travellers1 there was nothing to suggest
 to early man the limit of the earth4   
,he did1 indeed1 find in his wanderings1
 that changed climatic conditions barred
 him from farther progress2 but beyond  
the farthest reaches of his migrations1 
the seemingly flat land-surfaces and    

water-surfaces stretched away unbroken  
and1 to all appearances1 without end4   
,it would require a reach of the        
philosophical imagination to conceive a 
limit to the earth1 and while such      
imaginings may have been current in the 
prehistoric period1 we can have no proof
 of them1 and we may well postpone      
consideration of man's early dreamings  
as to the shape of the earth until we   
enter the historical epoch where we     
stand on firm ground4  #b4 ,primitive   
man must1 from a very early period1 have
 observed that the sun gives heat and   
light1 and that the moon and stars seem 
to give light only and no heat4 ,it     
required but a slight extension of this 
observation to note that the changing   
phases of the seasons were associated   
with the seeming approach and recession 
of the sun4 ,this observation1 however1 
could not have been made until man had  
migrated from the tropical regions1 and 
had reached a stage of mechanical       
development enabling him to live in     

subtropical or temperate zones4 ,even   
then it is conceivable that a long      
period must have elapsed before a direct
 causal relation was felt to exist      
between the shifting of the sun and the 
shifting of the seasons2 because1 as    
every one knows1 the periods of greatest
 heat in summer and greatest cold in    
winter usually come some weeks after the
 time of the solstices4 ,yet1 the fact  
that these extremes of temperature are  
associated in some way with the change  
of the sun's place in the heavens must1 
in time1 have impressed itself upon even
 a rudimentary intelligence4 ,it is     
hardly necessary to add that this is not
 meant to imply any definite knowledge  
of the real meaning of1 the seeming     
oscillations of the sun4 ,we shall see  
that1 even at a relatively late period1 
the vaguest notions were still in vogue 
as to the cause of the sun's changes of 
position4  ,that the sun1 moon1 and     
stars move across the heavens must      
obviously have been among the earliest  

scientific observations4 ,it must not be
 inferred1 however1 that this           
observation implied a necessary         
conception of the complete revolution of
 these bodies about the earth4 ,it is   
unnecessary to speculate here as to how 
the primitive intelligence conceived the
 transfer of the sun from the western to
 the eastern horizon1 to be effected    
each night1 for we shall have occasion  
to examine some historical speculations 
regarding this phenomenon4 ,we may      
assume1 however1 that the idea of the   
transfer of the heavenly bodies beneath 
the earth 7whatever the conception as to
 the form of that body7 must early have 
presented itself4  ,it required a       
relatively high development of the      
observing faculties1 yet a development  
which man must have attained ages before
 the historical period1 to note that the
 moon has a secondary motion1 which     
leads it to shift its relative position 
in the heavens1 as regards the stars2   
that the stars themselves1 on the other 

hand1 keep a fixed relation as regards  
one another1 with the notable exception 
of two or three of the most brilliant   
members of the galaxy1 the latter being 
the bodies which came to be known       
finally as planets1 or wandering stars4 
,the wandering propensities of such     
brilliant bodies as ,jupiter and ,venus 
cannot well have escaped detection4 ,we 
may safely assume1 however1 that these  
anomalous motions of the moon and       
planets found no explanation that could 
be called scientific until a relatively 
late period4  #c4 ,turning from the     
heavens to the earth1 and ignoring such 
primitive observations as that of the   
distinction between land and water1 we  
may note that there was one great       
scientific law which must have forced   
itself upon the attention of primitive  
man4 ,this is the law of universal      
terrestrial gravitation4 ,the word      
gravitation suggests the name of        
,newton1 and it may excite surprise to  
hear a knowledge of gravitation ascribed

 to men who preceded that philosopher   
by1 say1 twenty-five or fifty thousand  
years4 ,yet the slightest consideration 
of the facts will make it clear that the
 great central law that all heavy bodies
 fall directly towards the earth1 cannot
 have escaped the attention of the most 
primitive intelligence4 ,the arboreal   
habits of our primitive ancestors gave  
opportunities for constant observation  
of the practicalities of this law4 ,and1
 so soon as man had developed the mental
 capacity to formulate ideas1 one of the
 earliest ideas must have been the      
conception1 however vaguely phrased in  
words1 that all unsupported bodies fall 
towards the earth4 ,the same phenomenon 
being observed to operate on            
water-surfaces1 and no alteration being 
observed in its operation in different  
portions of man's habitat1 the most     
primitive wanderer must have come to    
have full faith in the universal action 
of the observed law of gravitation4     
,indeed1 it is inconceivable that he can

 have imagined a place on the earth     
where this law does not operate4 ,on the
 other hand1 of course1 he never grasped
 the conception of the operation of this
 law beyond the close proximity of the  
earth4 ,to extend the reach of          
gravitation out to the moon and to the  
stars1 including within its compass     
every particle of matter in the         
universe1 was the work of ,newton1 as we
 shall see in due course4 ,meantime we  
shall better understand that work if we 
recall that the mere local fact of      
terrestrial gravitation has been the    
familiar knowledge of all generations of
 men4 ,it may further help to connect us
 in sympathy with our primeval ancestor 
if we recall that in the attempt to     
explain this fact of terrestrial        
gravitation ,newton made no advance1 and
 we of to-day are scarcely more         
enlightened than the man of the ,stone  
,age4 ,like the man of the ,stone ,age1 
we know that an arrow shot into the sky 
falls back to the earth4 ,we can        

calculate1 as he could not do1 the arc  
it will describe and the exact speed of 
its fall2 but as to why it returns to   
earth at all1 the greatest philosopher  
of to-day is almost as much in the dark 
as was the first primitive bowman that  
ever made the experiment4  ,other       
physical facts going to make up an      
elementary science of mechanics1 that   
were demonstratively known to           
prehistoric man1 were such as these3 the
 rigidity of solids and the mobility of 
liquids2 the fact that changes of       
temperature transform solids to liquids 
and vice versa--that heat1 for example1 
melts copper and even iron1 and that    
cold congeals water2 and the fact that  
friction1 as illustrated in the rubbing 
together of two sticks1 may produce heat
 enough to cause a fire4 ,the rationale 
of this last experiment did not receive 
an explanation until about the beginning
 of the nineteenth century of our own   
era4 ,but the experimental fact was so  
well known to prehistoric man that he   

employed this method1 as various savage 
tribes employ it to this day1 for the   
altogether practical purpose of making a
 fire2 just as he employed his practical
 knowledge of the mutability of solids  
and liquids in smelting ores1 in        
alloying copper with tin to make bronze1
 and in casting this alloy in molds to  
make various implements and weapons4    
,here1 then1 were the germs of an       
elementary science of physics4          
,meanwhile such observations as that of 
the solution of salt in water may be    
considered as giving a first lesson in  
chemistry1 but beyond such altogether   
rudimentary conceptions chemical        
knowledge could not have gone--unless1  
indeed1 the practical observation of the
 effects of fire be included2 nor can   
this well be overlooked1 since scarcely 
another single line of practical        
observation had a more direct influence 
in promoting the progress of man towards
 the heights of civilization4  #d4 ,in  
the field of what we now speak of as    

biological knowledge1 primitive man had 
obviously the widest opportunity for    
practical observation4 ,we can hardly   
doubt that man attained1 at an early    
day1 to that conception of identity and 
of difference which ,plato places at the
 head of his metaphysical system4 ,we   
shall urge presently that it is         
precisely such general ideas as these   
that were man's earliest inductions from
 observation1 and hence that came to    
seem the most universal and innate ideas
 of his mentality4 ,it is quite         
inconceivable1 for example1 that even   
the most rudimentary intelligence that  
could be called human could fail to     
discriminate between living things and1 
let us say1 the rocks of the earth4 ,the
 most primitive intelligence1 then1 must
 have made a tacit classification of the
 natural objects about it into the grand
 divisions of animate and inanimate     
nature4 ,doubtless the nascent scientist
 may have imagined life animating many  
bodies that we should call              

inanimate--such as the sun1 wandering   
planets1 the winds1 and lightning2 and1 
on the other hand1 he may quite likely  
have relegated such objects as trees to 
the ranks of the non-living2 but that he
 recognized a fundamental distinction   
between1 let us say1 a wolf and a       
granite bowlder we cannot well doubt4 ,a
 step beyond this--a step1 however1 that
 may have required centuries or         
millenniums in the taking--must have    
carried man to a plane of intelligence  
from which a primitive ,aristotle or    
,linnaeus was enabled to note           
differences and resemblances connoting  
such groups of things as fishes1 birds1 
and furry beasts4 ,this conception1 to  
be sure1 is an abstraction of a         
relatively high order4 ,we know that    
there are savage races to-day whose     
language contains no word for such an   
abstraction as bird or tree4 ,we are    
bound to believe1 then1 that there were 
long ages of human progress during which
 the highest man had attained no such   

stage of abstraction2 but1 on the other 
hand1 it is equally little in question  
that this degree of mental development  
had been attained long before the       
opening of our historical period4 ,the  
primeval man1 then1 whose scientific    
knowledge we are attempting to          
predicate1 had become1 through his      
conception of fishes1 birds1 and hairy  
animals as separate classes1 a          
scientific zoologist of relatively high 
attainments4  ,in the practical field of
 medical knowledge1 a certain stage of  
development must have been reached at a 
very early day4 ,even animals pick and  
choose among the vegetables about them1 
and at times seek out certain herbs     
quite different from their ordinary     
food1 practising a sort of instinctive  
therapeutics4 ,the cat's fondness for   
catnip is a case in point4 ,the most    
primitive man1 then1 must have inherited
 a racial or instinctive knowledge of   
the medicinal effects of certain herbs2 
in particular he must have had such     

elementary knowledge of toxicology as   
would enable him to avoid eating certain
 poisonous berries4 ,perhaps1 indeed1 we
 are placing the effect before the cause
 to some extent2 for1 after all1 the    
animal system possesses marvellous      
powers of adaption1 and there is perhaps
 hardly any poisonous vegetable which   
man might not have learned to eat       
without deleterious effect1 provided the
 experiment were made gradually4 ,to a  
certain extent1 then1 the observed      
poisonous effects of numerous plants    
upon the human system are to be         
explained by the fact that our ancestors
 have avoided this particular vegetable4
 ,certain fruits and berries might have 
come to have been a part of man's diet1 
had they grown in the regions he        
inhabited at an early day1 which now are
 poisonous to his system4 ,this thought1
 however1 carries us too far afield4    
,for practical purposes1 it suffices    
that certain roots1 leaves1 and fruits  
possess principles that are poisonous to

 the human system1 and that unless man  
had learned in some way to avoid these1 
our race must have come to disaster4 ,in
 point of fact1 he did learn to avoid   
them2 and such evidence implied1 as has 
been said1 an elementary knowledge of   
toxicology4  ,coupled with this         
knowledge of things dangerous to the    
human system1 there must have grown up1 
at a very early day1 a belief in the    
remedial character of various vegetables
 as agents to combat disease4 ,here1 of 
course1 was a rudimentary therapeutics1 
a crude principle of an empirical art of
 medicine4 ,as just suggested1 the lower
 order of animals have an instinctive   
knowledge that enables them to seek out 
remedial herbs 7though we probably      
exaggerate the extent of this           
instinctive knowledge72 and if this be  
true1 man must have inherited from his  
prehuman ancestors this instinct along  
with the others4 ,that he extended this 
knowledge through observation and       
practice1 and came early to make        

extensive use of drugs in the treatment 
of disease1 is placed beyond cavil      
through the observation of the various  
existing barbaric tribes1 nearly all of 
whom practice elaborate systems of      
therapeutics4 ,we shall have occasion to
 see that even within historic times the
 particular therapeutic measures        
employed were often crude1 and1 as we   
are accustomed to say1 unscientific2 but
 even the crudest of them are really    
based upon scientific principles1       
inasmuch as their application implies   
the deduction of principles of action   
from previous observations4 ,certain    
drugs are applied to appease certain    
symptoms of disease because in the      
belief of the medicine-man such drugs   
have proved beneficial in previous      
similar cases4  ,all this1 however1     
implies an appreciation of the fact that
 man is subject to natural diseases1 and
 that if these diseases are not         
combated1 death may result4 ,but it     
should be understood that the earliest  

man probably had no such conception as  
this4 ,throughout all the ages of early 
development1 what we call natural       
disease and natural death meant the     
onslaught of a tangible enemy4 ,a study 
of this question leads us to some very  
curious inferences4 ,the more we look   
into the matter the more the thought    
forces itself home to us that the idea  
of natural death1 as we now conceive it1
 came to primitive man as a relatively  
late scientific induction4 ,this thought
 seems almost startling1 so axiomatic   
has the conception man is mortal come to
 appear4 ,yet a study of the ideas of   
existing savages1 combined with our     
knowledge of the point of view from     
which historical peoples regard disease1
 make it more probable that the         
primitive conception of human life did  
not include the idea of necessary death4
 ,we are told that the ,australian      
savage who falls from a tree and breaks 
his neck is not regarded as having met a
 natural death1 but as having been the  

victim of the magical practices of the  
medicine-man of some neighboring tribe4 
,similarly1 we shall find that the      
,egyptian and the ,babylonian of the    
early historical period conceived       
illness as being almost invariably the  
result of the machinations of an enemy4 
,one need but recall the superstitious  
observances of the ,middle ,ages1 and   
the yet more recent belief in           
witchcraft1 to realize how generally    
disease has been personified as a       
malicious agent invoked by an unfriendly
 mind4 ,indeed1 the phraseology of our  
present-day speech is still reminiscent 
of this2 as when1 for example1 we speak 
of an attack of fever1 and the like4    
,when1 following out this idea1 we      
picture to ourselves the conditions     
under which primitive man lived1 it will
 be evident at once how relatively      
infrequent must have been his           
observation of what we usually term     
natural death4 ,his world was a world of
 strife2 he lived by the chase2 he saw  

animals kill one another2 he witnessed  
the death of his own fellows at the     
hands of enemies4 ,naturally enough1    
then1 when a member of his family was   
struck down by invisible agents1 he     
ascribed this death also to violence1   
even though the offensive agent was     
concealed4 ,moreover1 having very little
 idea of the lapse of time--being quite 
unaccustomed1 that is1 to reckon events 
from any fixed era--primitive man cannot
 have gained at once a clear conception 
of age as applied to his fellows4 ,until
 a relatively late stage of development 
made tribal life possible1 it cannot    
have been usual for man to have         
knowledge of his grandparents2 as a rule
 he did not know his own parents after  
he had passed the adolescent stage and  
had been turned out upon the world to   
care for himself4 ,if1 then1 certain of 
his fellow-beings showed those evidences
 of infirmity which we ascribe to age1  
it did not necessarily follow that he   
saw any association between such        

infirmities and the length of time which
 those persons had lived4 ,the very fact
 that some barbaric nations retain the  
custom of killing the aged and infirm1  
in itself suggests the possibility that 
this custom arose before a clear        
conception had been attained that such  
drags upon the community would be       
removed presently in the natural order  
of things4 ,to a person who had no clear
 conception of the lapse of time and no 
preconception as to the limited period  
of man's life1 the infirmities of age   
might very naturally be ascribed to the 
repeated attacks of those inimical      
powers which were understood sooner or  
later to carry off most members of the  
race4 ,and coupled with this thought    
would go the conception that inasmuch as
 some people through luck had escaped   
the vengeance of all their enemies for  
long periods1 these same individuals    
might continue to escape for indefinite 
periods of the future4 ,there were no   
written records to tell primeval man of 

events of long ago4 ,he lived in the    
present1 and his sweep of ideas scarcely
 carried him back beyond the limits of  
his individual memory4 ,but memory is   
observed to be fallacious4 ,it must     
early have been noted that some people  
recalled events which other participants
 in them had quite forgotten1 and it may
 readily enough have been inferred that 
those members of the tribe who spoke of 
events which others could not recall    
were merely the ones who were gifted    
with the best memories4 ,if these       
reached a period when their memories    
became vague1 it did not follow that    
their recollections had carried them    
back to the beginnings of their lives4  
,indeed1 it is contrary to all          
experience to believe that any man      
remembers all the things he has once    
known1 and the observed fallaciousness  
and evanescence of memory would thus    
tend to substantiate rather than to     
controvert the idea that various members
 of a tribe had been alive for an       

indefinite period4  ,without further    
elaborating the argument1 it seems a    
justifiable inference that the first    
conception primitive man would have of  
his own life would not include the      
thought of natural death1 but would1    
conversely1 connote the vague conception
 of endless life4 ,our own ancestors1 a 
few generations removed1 had not got rid
 of this conception1 as the perpetual   
quest of the spring of eternal youth    
amply testifies4 ,a naturalist of our   
own day has suggested that perhaps birds
 never die except by violence4 ,the     
thought1 then1 that man has a term of   
years beyond which in the nature of     
things1 as the saying goes1 he may not  
live1 would have dawned but gradually   
upon the developing intelligence of     
successive generations of men2 and we   
cannot feel sure that he would fully    
have grasped the conception of a natural
 termination of human life until he had 
shaken himself free from the idea that  
disease is always the result of the     

magic practice of an enemy4 ,our        
observation of historical man in        
antiquity makes it somewhat doubtful    
whether this conception had been        
attained before the close of the        
prehistoric period4 ,if it had1 this    
conception of the mortality of man was  
one of the most striking scientific     
inductions to which prehistoric man     
attained4 ,incidentally1 it may be noted
 that the conception of eternal life for
 the human body being a more primitive  
idea than the conception of natural     
death1 the idea of the immortality of   
the spirit would be the most natural of 
conceptions4 ,the immortal spirit1      
indeed1 would be but a correlative of   
the immortal body1 and the idea which we
 shall see prevalent among the          
,egyptians that the soul persists only  
as long as the body is intact--the idea 
upon which the practice of mummifying   
the dead depended--finds a ready        
explanation4 ,but this phase of the     
subject carries us somewhat afield4 ,for

 our present purpose it suffices to have
 pointed out that the conception of     
man's mortality--a conception which now 
seems of all others the most natural and
 innate--was in all probability a       
relatively late scientific induction of 
our primitive ancestors4  #e4 ,turning  
from the consideration of the body to   
its mental complement1 we are forced to 
admit that here1 also1 our primitive man
 must have made certain elementary      
observations that underlie such sciences
 as psychology1 mathematics1 and        
political economy4 ,the elementary      
emotions associated with hunger and with
 satiety1 with love and with hatred1    
must have forced themselves upon the    
earliest intelligence that reached the  
plane of conscious self-observation4    
,the capacity to count1 at least to the 
number four or five1 is within the range
 of even animal intelligence4 ,certain  
savages have gone scarcely farther than 
this2 but our primeval ancestor1 who was
 forging on towards civilization1 had   

learned to count his fingers and toes1  
and to number objects about him by fives
 and tens in consequence1 before he     
passed beyond the plane of numerous     
existing barbarians4 ,how much beyond   
this he had gone we need not attempt to 
inquire2 but the relatively high        
development of mathematics in the early 
historical period suggests that primeval
 man had attained a not inconsiderable  
knowledge of numbers4 ,the humdrum      
vocation of looking after a numerous    
progeny must have taught the mother the 
rudiments of addition and subtraction2  
and the elements of multiplication and  
division are implied in the capacity to 
carry on even the rudest form of barter1
 such as the various tribes must have   
practised from an early day4  ,as to    
political ideas1 even the crudest tribal
 life was based on certain conceptions  
of ownership1 at least of tribal        
ownership1 and the application of the   
principle of likeness and difference to 
which we have already referred4 ,each   

tribe1 of course1 differed in some      
regard from other tribes1 and the       
recognition of these differences implied
 in itself a political classification4  
,a certain tribe took possession of a   
particular hunting-ground1 which became1
 for the time being1 its home1 and over 
which it came to exercise certain       
rights4 ,an invasion of this territory  
by another tribe might lead to war1 and 
the banding together of the members of  
the tribe to repel the invader implied  
both a recognition of communal unity and
 a species of prejudice in favor of that
 community that constituted a primitive 
patriotism4 ,but this unity of action in
 opposing another tribe would not       
prevent a certain rivalry of interest   
between the members of the same tribe1  
which would show itself more and more   
prominently as the tribe increased in   
size4 ,the association of two or more   
persons implies1 always1 the ascendency 
of some and the subordination of others4
 ,leadership and subordination are      

necessary correlatives of difference of 
physical and mental endowment1 and      
rivalry between leaders would inevitably
 lead to the formation of primitive     
political parties4 ,with the ultimate   
success and ascendency of one leader1   
who secures either absolute power or    
power modified in accordance with the   
advice of subordinate leaders1 we have  
the germs of an elaborate political     
system--an embryo science of government4
  ,meanwhile1 the very existence of such
 a community implies the recognition on 
the part of its members of certain      
individual rights1 the recognition of   
which is essential to communal harmony4 
,the right of individual ownership of   
the various articles and implements of  
every-day life must be recognized1 or   
all harmony would be at an end4 ,certain
 rules of justice--primitive laws--must1
 by common consent1 give protection to  
the weakest members of the community4   
,here are the rudiments of a system of  
ethics4 ,it may seem anomalous to speak 

of this primitive morality1 this early  
recognition of the principles of right  
and wrong1 as having any relation to    
science4 ,yet1 rightly considered1 there
 is no incongruity in such a citation4  
,there cannot well be a doubt that the  
adoption of those broad principles of   
right and wrong which underlie the      
entire structure of modern civilization 
was due to scientific induction1--in    
other words1 to the belief1 based on    
observation and experience1 that the    
principles implied were essential to    
communal progress4 ,he who has scanned  
the pageant of history knows how often  
these principles seem to be absent in   
the intercourse of men and nations4 ,yet
 the ideal is always there as a standard
 by which all deeds are judged4   ,it   
would appear1 then1 that the entire     
superstructure of later science had its 
foundation in the knowledge and practice
 of prehistoric man4 ,the civilization  
of the historical period could not have 
advanced as it has had there not been   

countless generations of culture back of
 it4 ,the new principles of science     
could not have been evolved had there   
not been great basal principles which   
ages of unconscious experiment had      
impressed upon the mind of our race4    
,due meed of praise must be given1 then1
 to our primitive ancestor for his      
scientific accomplishments2 but justice 
demands that we should look a little    
farther and consider the reverse side of
 the picture4 ,we have had to do1 thus  
far1 chiefly with the positive side of  
accomplishment4 ,we have pointed out    
what our primitive ancestor knew1       
intimating1 perhaps1 the limitations of 
his knowledge2 but we have had little to
 say of one all-important feature of his
 scientific theorizing4 ,the feature in 
question is based on the highly         
scientific desire and propensity to find
 explanations for the phenomena of      
nature4 ,without such desire no progress
 could be made4 ,it is1 as we have seen1
 the generalizing from experience that  

constitutes real scientific progress2   
and yet1 just as most other good things 
can be overdone1 this scientific        
propensity may be carried to a          
disastrous excess4  ,primeval man did   
not escape this danger4 ,he observed1 he
 reasoned1 he found explanations2 but he
 did not always discriminate as to the  
logicality of his reasonings4 ,he failed
 to recognize the limitations of his    
knowledge4 ,the observed uniformity in  
the sequence of certain events impressed
 on his mind the idea of cause and      
effect4 ,proximate causes known1 he     
sought remoter causes2 childlike1 his   
inquiring mind was always asking1 ,why8 
and1 childlike1 he demanded an explicit 
answer4 ,if the forces of nature seemed 
to combat him1 if wind and rain opposed 
his progress and thunder and lightning  
seemed to menace his existence1 he was  
led irrevocably to think of those human 
foes who warred with him1 and to see1   
back of the warfare of the elements1 an 
inscrutable malevolent intelligence     

which took this method to express its   
displeasure4 ,but every other line of   
scientific observation leads equally1   
following back a sequence of events1 to 
seemingly causeless beginnings4 ,modern 
science can explain the lightning1 as it
 can explain a great number of the      
mysteries which the primeval            
intelligence could not penetrate4 ,but  
the primordial man could not wait for   
the revelations of scientific           
investigation3 he must vault at once to 
a final solution of all scientific      
problems4 ,he found his solution by     
peopling the world with invisible       
forces1 anthropomorphic in their        
conception1 like himself in their       
thought and action1 differing only in   
the limitations of their powers4 ,his   
own dream existence gave him seeming    
proof of the existence of an alter ego1 
a spiritual portion of himself that     
could dissever itself from his body and 
wander at will2 his scientific          
inductions seemed to tell him of a world

 of invisible beings1 capable of        
influencing him for good or ill4 ,from  
the scientific exercise of his faculties
 he evolved the all-encompassing        
generalizations of invisible and        
all-powerful causes back of the         
phenomena of nature4 ,these             
generalizations1 early developed and    
seemingly supported by the observations 
of countless generations1 came to be    
among the most firmly established       
scientific inductions of our primeval   
ancestor4 ,they obtained a hold upon the
 mentality of our race that led         
subsequent generations to think of them1
 sometimes to speak of them1 as innate  
ideas4 ,the observations upon which they
 were based are now1 for the most part1 
susceptible of other interpretations2   
but the old interpretations have        
precedent and prejudice back of them1   
and they represent ideas that are more  
difficult than almost any others to     
eradicate4 ,always1 and everywhere1     
superstitions based upon unwarranted    

early scientific deductions have been   
the most implacable foes to the progress
 of science4 ,men have built systems of 
philosophy around their conception of   
anthropomorphic deities2 they have      
linked to these systems of philosophy   
the allied conception of the            
immutability of man's spirit1 and they  
have asked that scientific progress     
should stop short at the brink of these 
systems of philosophy and accept their  
dictates as final4 ,yet there is not    
to-day in existence1 and there never has
 been1 one jot of scientific evidence   
for the existence of these intangible   
anthropomorphic powers back of nature   
that is not susceptible of scientific   
challenge and of more logical           
interpretation4 ,in despite of which the
 superstitious beliefs are still as     
firmly fixed in the minds of a large    
majority of our race as they were in the
 mind of our prehistoric ancestor4 ,the 
fact of this baleful heritage must not  
be forgotten in estimating the debt of  

gratitude which historic man owes to his
 barbaric predecessor4     ,,ii4        
,,egyptian ,,science  ,in the previous  
chapter we have purposely refrained from
 referring to any particular tribe or   
race of historical man4 ,now1 however1  
we are at the beginnings of national    
existence1 and we have to consider the  
accomplishments of an individual race2  
or rather1 perhaps1 of two or more races
 that occupied successively the same    
geographical territory4 ,but even now   
our studies must for a time remain very 
general2 we shall see little or nothing 
of the deeds of individual scientists in
 the course of our study of ,egyptian   
culture4 ,we are still1 it must be      
understood1 at the beginnings of        
history2 indeed1 we must first bridge   
over the gap from the prehistoric before
 we may find ourselves fairly on the    
line of march of historical science4    
,at the very outset we may well ask what
 constitutes the distinction between    
prehistoric and historic epochs--a      

distinction which has been constantly   
implied in much that we have said4 ,the 
reply savors somewhat of vagueness4 ,it 
is a distinction having to do1 not so   
much with facts of human progress as    
with our interpretation of these facts4 
,when we speak of the dawn of history we
 must not be understood to imply that1  
at the period in question1 there was any
 sudden change in the intellectual      
status of the human race or in the      
status of any individual tribe or nation
 of men4 ,what we mean is that modern   
knowledge has penetrated the mists of   
the past for the period we term         
historical with something more of       
clearness and precision than it has been
 able to bring to bear upon yet earlier 
periods4 ,new accessions of knowledge   
may thus shift from time to time the    
bounds of the so-called historical      
period4 ,the clearest illustration of   
this is furnished by our interpretation 
of ,egyptian history4 ,until recently   
the biblical records of the ,hebrew     

captivity or service1 together with the 
similar account of ,josephus1 furnished 
about all that was known of ,egyptian   
history even of so comparatively recent 
a time as that of ,ramses ,,ii4         
7fifteenth century ,b4,c471 and from    
that period on there was almost a       
complete gap until the story was taken  
up by the ,greek historians ,herodotus  
and ,diodorus4 ,it is true that the     
king-lists of the ,alexandrian          
historian1 ,manetho1 were all along     
accessible in somewhat garbled copies4  
,but at best they seemed to supply      
unintelligible lists of names and dates 
which no one was disposed to take       
seriously4 ,that they were1 broadly     
speaking1 true historical records1 and  
most important historical records at    
that1 was not recognized by modern      
scholars until fresh light had been     
thrown on the subject from altogether   
new sources4  ,these new sources of     
knowledge of ancient history demand a   
moment's consideration4 ,they are       

all-important because they have been the
 means of extending the historical      
period of ,egyptian history 7using the  
word history in the way just explained7 
by three or four thousand years4 ,as    
just suggested1 that historical period  
carried the scholarship of the early    
nineteenth century scarcely beyond the  
fifteenth century ,b4,c41 but to-day's  
vision extends with tolerable clearness 
to about the middle of the fifth        
millennium ,b4,c4 ,this change has been 
brought about chiefly through study of  
the ,egyptian hieroglyphics4 ,these     
hieroglyphics constitute1 as we now     
know1 a highly developed system of      
writing2 a system that was practised for
 some thousands of years1 but which fell
 utterly into disuse in the later ,roman
 period1 and the knowledge of which     
passed absolutely from the mind of man4 
,for about two thousand years no one was
 able to read1 with any degree of       
explicitness1 a single character of this
 strange script1 and the idea became    

prevalent that it did not constitute a  
real system of writing1 but only a more 
or less barbaric system of religious    
symbolism4 ,the falsity of this view was
 shown early in the nineteenth century  
when ,dr4 ,thomas ,young was led1       
through study of the famous trilingual  
inscription of the ,rosetta stone1 to   
make the first successful attempt at    
clearing up the mysteries of the        
hieroglyphics4  ,this is not the place  
to tell the story of his fascinating    
discoveries and those of his successors4
 ,that story belongs to                 
nineteenth-century science1 not to the  
science of the ,egyptians4 ,suffice it  
here that ,young gained the first clew  
to a few of the phonetic values of the  
,egyptian symbols1 and that the work of 
discovery was carried on and vastly     
extended by the ,frenchman ,champollion1
 a little later1 with the result that   
the firm foundations of the modern      
science of ,egyptology were laid4       
,subsequently such students as          

,rosellini the ,italian1 ,lepsius the   
,german1 and ,wilkinson the ,englishman1
 entered the field1 which in due course 
was cultivated by ,de ,rouge in ,france 
and ,birch in ,england1 and by such     
distinguished latter-day workers as     
,chabas1 ,mariette1 ,maspero1           
,amelineau1 and ,de ,morgan among the   
,frenchmen2 ,professor ,petrie and ,dr4 
,budge in ,england2 and ,brugsch ,pasha 
and ,professor ,erman in ,germany1 not  
to mention a large coterie of somewhat  
less familiar names4 ,these men working1
 some of them in the field of practical 
exploration1 some as students of the    
,egyptian language and writing1 have    
restored to us a tolerably precise      
knowledge of the history of ,egypt from 
the time of the first historical king1  
,mena1 whose date is placed at about the
 middle of the fifth century ,b4,c4 ,we 
know not merely the names of most of the
 subsequent rulers1 but some thing of   
the deeds of many of them2 and1 what is 
vastly more important1 we know1 thanks  

to the modern interpretation of the old 
literature1 many things concerning the  
life of the people1 and in particular   
concerning their highest culture1 their 
methods of thought1 and their scientific
 attainments1 which might well have been
 supposed to be past finding out4 ,nor  
has modern investigation halted with the
 time of the first kings2 the recent    
explorations of such archaeologists as  
,amelineau1 ,de ,morgan1 and ,petrie    
have brought to light numerous remains  
of what is now spoken of as the         
predynastic period--a period when the   
inhabitants of the ,nile ,valley used   
implements of chipped stone1 when their 
pottery was made without the use of the 
potter's wheel1 and when they buried    
their dead in curiously cramped         
attitudes without attempt at            
mummification4 ,these aboriginal        
inhabitants of ,egypt cannot perhaps    
with strict propriety be spoken of as   
living within the historical period1    
since we cannot date their relics with  

any accuracy4 ,but they give us glimpses
 of the early stages of civilization    
upon which the ,egyptians of the        
dynastic period were to advance4  ,it is
 held that the nascent civilization of  
these ,egyptians of the ,neolithic1 or  
late ,stone ,age1 was overthrown by the 
invading hosts of a more highly         
civilized race which probably came from 
the ,east1 and which may have been of a 
,semitic stock4 ,the presumption is that
 this invading people brought with it a 
knowledge of the arts of war and peace1 
developed or adopted in its old home4   
,the introduction of these arts served  
to bridge somewhat suddenly1 so far as  
,egypt is concerned1 that gap between   
the prehistoric and the historic stage  
of culture to which we have all along   
referred4 ,the essential structure of   
that bridge1 let it now be clearly      
understood1 consisted of a single       
element4 ,that element is the capacity  
to make written records3 a knowledge of 
the art of writing4 ,clearly understood1

 it is this element of knowledge that   
forms the line bounding the historical  
period4 ,numberless mementos are in     
existence that tell of the intellectual 
activities of prehistoric man2 such     
mementos as flint implements1 pieces of 
pottery1 and fragments of bone1         
inscribed with pictures that may fairly 
be spoken of as works of art2 but so    
long as no written word accompanies     
these records1 so long as no name of    
king or scribe comes down to us1 we feel
 that these records belong to the domain
 of archaeology rather than to that of  
history4 ,yet it must be understood all 
along that these two domains shade one  
into the other and1 it has already been 
urged1 that the distinction between them
 is one that pertains rather to modern  
scholarship than to the development of  
civilization itself4 ,bearing this      
distinction still in mind1 and recalling
 that the historical period1 which is to
 be the field of our observation        
throughout the rest of our studies1     

extends for ,egypt well back into the   
fifth millennium ,b4,c41 let us briefly 
review the practical phases of that     
civilization to which the ,egyptian had 
attained before the beginning of the    
dynastic period4 ,since theoretical     
science is everywhere linked with the   
mechanical arts1 this survey will give  
us a clear comprehension of the field   
that lies open for the progress of      
science in the long stages of historical
 time upon which we are just entering4  
,we may pass over such rudimentary      
advances in the direction of            
civilization as are implied in the use  
of articulate language1 the application 
of fire to the uses of man1 and the     
systematic making of dwellings of one   
sort or another1 since all of these are 
stages of progress that were reached    
very early in the prehistoric period4   
,what more directly concerns us is to   
note that a really high stage of        
mechanical development had been reached 
before the dawnings of ,egyptian history

 proper4 ,all manner of household       
utensils were employed2 the potter's    
wheel aided in the construction of a    
great variety of earthen vessels2       
weaving had become a fine art1 and      
weapons of bronze1 including axes1      
spears1 knives1 and arrow-heads1 were in
 constant use4 ,animals had long been   
domesticated1 in particular the dog1 the
 cat1 and the ox2 the horse was         
introduced later from the ,east4 ,the   
practical arts of agriculture were      
practised almost as they are at the     
present day in ,egypt1 there being1 of  
course1 the same dependence then as now 
upon the inundations of the ,nile4  ,as 
to government1 the ,egyptian of the     
first dynasty regarded his king as a    
demi-god to be actually deified after   
his death1 and this point of view was   
not changed throughout the stages of    
later ,egyptian history4 ,in point of   
art1 marvellous advances upon the skill 
of the prehistoric man had been made1   
probably in part under ,asiatic         

influences1 and that unique style of    
stilted yet expressive drawing had come 
into vogue1 which was to be remembered  
in after times as typically ,egyptian4  
,more important than all else1 our      
,egyptian of the earliest historical    
period was in possession of the art of  
writing4 ,he had begun to make those    
specific records which were impossible  
to the man of the ,stone ,age1 and thus 
he had entered fully upon the way of    
historical progress which1 as already   
pointed out1 has its very foundation in 
written records4 ,from now on the deeds 
of individual kings could find specific 
record4 ,it began to be possible to fix 
the chronology of remote events with    
some accuracy2 and with this same fixing
 of chronologies came the advent of true
 history4 ,the period which precedes    
what is usually spoken of as the first  
dynasty in ,egypt is one into which the 
present-day searcher is still able to   
see but darkly4 ,the evidence seems to  
suggest than an invasion of relatively  

cultured people from the ,east          
overthrew1 and in time supplanted1 the  
,neolithic civilization of the ,nile    
,valley4 ,it is impossible to date this 
invasion accurately1 but it cannot well 
have been later than the year #ejjj     
,b4,c41 and it may have been a great    
many centuries earlier than this4 ,be   
the exact dates what they may1 we find  
the ,egyptian of the fifth millennium   
,b4,c4 in full possession of a highly   
organized civilization4  ,all subsequent
 ages have marvelled at the pyramids1   
some of which date from about the year  
#djjj ,b4,c41 though we may note in     
passing that these dates must not be    
taken too literally4 ,the chronology of 
ancient ,egypt cannot as yet be fixed   
with exact accuracy1 but the            
disagreements between the various       
students of the subject need give us    
little concern4 ,for our present purpose
 it does not in the least matter whether
 the pyramids were built three thousand 
or four thousand years before the       

beginning of our era4 ,it suffices that 
they date back to a period long         
antecedent to the beginnings of         
civilization in ,western ,europe4 ,they 
prove that the ,egyptian of that early  
day had attained a knowledge of         
practical mechanics which1 even from the
 twentieth-century point of view1 is not
 to be spoken of lightly4 ,it has       
sometimes been suggested that these     
mighty pyramids1 built as they are of   
great blocks of stone1 speak for an     
almost miraculous knowledge on the part 
of their builders2 but a saner view of  
the conditions gives no warrant for this
 thought4 ,diodoras1 the ,sicilian1 in  
his famous ,world's ,history1 written   
about the beginning of our era1 explains
 the building of the pyramids by        
suggesting that great quantities of     
earth were piled against the side of the
 rising structure to form an inclined   
plane up which the blocks of stone were 
dragged4 ,he gives us certain figures1  
based1 doubtless1 on reports made to him

 by ,egyptian priests1 who in turn drew 
upon the traditions of their country1   
perhaps even upon written records no    
longer preserved4 ,he says that one     
hundred and twenty thousand men were    
employed in the construction of the     
largest pyramid1 and that1              
notwithstanding the size of this host of
 workers1 the task occupied twenty      
years4 ,we must not place too much      
dependence upon such figures as these1  
for the ancient historians are          
notoriously given to exaggeration in    
recording numbers2 yet we need not doubt
 that the report given by ,diodorus is  
substantially accurate in its main      
outlines as to the method through which 
the pyramids were constructed4 ,a host  
of men putting their added weight and   
strength to the task1 with the aid of   
ropes1 pulleys1 rollers1 and levers1 and
 utilizing the principle of the inclined
 plane1 could undoubtedly move and      
elevate and place in position the       
largest blocks that enter into the      

pyramids or--what seems even more       
wonderful--the most gigantic obelisks1  
without the aid of any other kind of    
mechanism or of any more occult power4  
,the same hands could1 as ,diodorus     
suggests1 remove all trace of the debris
 of construction and leave the pyramids 
and obelisks standing in weird          
isolation1 as if sprung into being      
through a miracle4   ,,astronomical     
,,science  ,it has been necessary to    
bear in mind these phases of practical  
civilization because much that we know  
of the purely scientific attainments of 
the ,egyptians is based upon modern     
observation of their pyramids and       
temples4 ,it was early observed1 for    
example1 that the pyramids are obviously
 oriented as regards the direction in   
which they face1 in strict accordance   
with some astronomical principle4 ,early
 in the nineteenth century the          
,frenchman ,biot made interesting       
studies in regard to this subject1 and a
 hundred years later1 in our own time1  

,sir ,joseph ,norman ,lockyer1 following
 up the work of various intermediary    
observers1 has given the subject much   
attention1 making it the central theme  
of his work on ,the ,dawn of            
,astronomy47#a7 ,lockyer's researches   
make it clear that in the main the      
temples of ,egypt were oriented with    
reference to the point at which the sun 
rises on the day of the summer solstice4
 ,the time of the solstice had peculiar 
interest for the ,egyptians1 because it 
corresponded rather closely with the    
time of the rising of the ,nile4 ,the   
floods of that river appear with very   
great regularity2 the on-rushing tide   
reaches the region of ,heliopolis and   
,memphis almost precisely on the day of 
the summer solstice4 ,the time varies at
 different stages of the river's course1
 but as the civilization of the early   
dynasties centred at ,memphis1          
observations made at this place had     
widest vogue4  ,considering the         
all-essential character of the ,nile    

floods-without which civilization would 
be impossible in ,egypt--it is not      
strange that the time of their          
appearance should be taken as marking   
the beginning of a new year4 ,the fact  
that their coming coincides with the    
solstice makes such a division of the   
calendar perfectly natural4 ,in point of
 fact1 from the earliest periods of     
which records have come down to us1 the 
new year of the ,egyptians dates from   
the summer solstice4 ,it is certain that
 from the earliest historical periods   
the ,egyptians were aware of the        
approximate length of the year4 ,it     
would be strange were it otherwise1     
considering the ease with which a record
 of days could be kept from ,nile flood 
to ,nile flood1 or from solstice to     
solstice4 ,but this1 of course1 applies 
only to an approximate count4 ,there is 
some reason to believe that in the      
earliest period the ,egyptians made this
 count only #cfj days4 ,the fact that   
their year was divided into twelve      

months of thirty days each lends color  
to this belief2 but1 in any event1 the  
mistake was discovered in due time and a
 partial remedy was applied through the 
interpolation of a little month of five 
days between the end of the twelfth     
month and the new year4 ,this nearly but
 not quite remedied the matter4 ,what it
 obviously failed to do was to take     
account of that additional quarter of a 
day which really rounds out the actual  
year4  ,it would have been a vastly     
convenient thing for humanity had it    
chanced that the earth had so           
accommodated its rotary motion with its 
speed of transit about the sun as to    
make its annual flight in precisely #cfj
 days4 ,twelve lunar months of thirty   
days each would then have coincided     
exactly with the solar year1 and most of
 the complexities of the calendar1 which
 have so puzzled historical students1   
would have been avoided2 but1 on the    
other hand1 perhaps this very simplicity
 would have proved detrimental to       

astronomical science by preventing men  
from searching the heavens as carefully 
as they have done4 ,be that as it may1  
the complexity exists4 ,the actual year 
of three hundred and sixty-five and     
7about7 one-quarter days cannot be      
divided evenly into months1 and some    
such expedient as the intercalation of  
days here and there is essential1 else  
the calendar will become absolutely out 
of harmony with the seasons4  ,in the   
case of the ,egyptians1 the attempt at  
adjustment was made1 as just noted1 by  
the introduction of the five days1      
constituting what the ,egyptians        
themselves termed the five days over and
 above the year4 ,these so-called       
epagomenal days were undoubtedly        
introduced at a very early period4      
,maspero holds that they were in use    
before the first ,thinite dynasty1      
citing in evidence the fact that the    
legend of ,osiris explains these days as
 having been created by the god ,thot in
 order to permit ,nuit to give birth to 

all her children2 this expedient being  
necessary to overcome a ban which had   
been pronounced against ,nuit1 according
 to which she could not give birth to   
children on any day of the year4 ,but1  
of course1 the five additional days do  
not suffice fully to rectify the        
calendar4 ,there remains the additional 
quarter of a day to be accounted for4   
,this1 of course1 amounts to a full day 
every fourth year4 ,we shall see that   
later ,alexandrian science hit upon the 
expedient of adding a day to every      
fourth year2 an expedient which the     
,julian calendar adopted and which still
 gives us our familiar leap-year4 ,but1 
unfortunately1 the ancient ,egyptian    
failed to recognize the need of this    
additional day1 or if he did recognize  
it he failed to act on his knowledge1   
and so it happened that1 starting       
somewhere back in the remote past with a
 new year's day that coincided with the 
inundation of the ,nile1 there was a    
constantly shifting maladjustment of    

calendar and seasons as time went on4   
,the ,egyptian seasons1 it should be    
explained1 were three in number3 the    
season of the inundation1 the season of 
the seed-time1 and the season of the    
harvest2 each season being1 of course1  
four months in extent4 ,originally1 as  
just mentioned1 the season of the       
inundations began and coincided with the
 actual time of inundation4 ,the more   
precise fixing of new year's day was    
accomplished through observation of the 
time of the so-called heliacal rising of
 the dog-star1 ,sirius1 which bore the  
,egyptian name ,sothis4 ,it chances     
that1 as viewed from about the region of
 ,heliopolis1 the sun at the time of the
 summer solstice occupies an apparent   
position in the heavens close to the    
dog-star4 ,now1 as is well known1 the   
,egyptians1 seeing divinity back of     
almost every phenomenon of nature1 very 
naturally paid particular reverence to  
so obviously influential a personage as 
the sun-god4 ,in particular they thought

 it fitting to do homage to him just as 
he was starting out on his tour of      
,egypt in the morning2 and that they    
might know the precise moment of his    
coming1 the ,egyptian astronomer        
priests1 perched on the hill-tops near  
their temples1 were wont to scan the    
eastern horizon with reference to some  
star which had been observed to precede 
the solar luminary4 ,of course the      
precession of the equinoxes1 due to that
 axial wobble in which our clumsy earth 
indulges1 would change the apparent     
position of the fixed stars in reference
 to the sun1 so that the same star could
 not do service as heliacal messenger   
indefinitely2 but1 on the other hand1   
these changes are so slow that          
observations by many generations of     
astronomers would be required to detect 
the shifting4 ,it is believed by        
,lockyer1 though the evidence is not    
quite demonstrative1 that the           
astronomical observations of the        
,egyptians date back to a period when   

,sothis1 the dog-star1 was not in close 
association with the sun on the morning 
of the summer solstice4 ,yet1 according 
to the calculations of ,biot1 the       
heliacal rising of ,sothis at the       
solstice was noted as early as the year 
#cbhe ,b4,c41 and it is certain that    
this star continued throughout          
subsequent centuries to keep this       
position of peculiar prestige4 ,hence it
 was that ,sothis came to be associated 
with ,isis1 one of the most important   
divinities of ,egypt1 and that the day  
in which ,sothis was first visible in   
the morning sky marked the beginning of 
the new year2 that day coinciding1 as   
already noted1 with the summer solstice 
and with the beginning of the ,nile     
flow4  ,but now for the difficulties    
introduced by that unreckoned quarter of
 a day4 ,obviously with a calendar of   
#cfe days only1 at the end of four      
years1 the calendar year1 or vague year1
 as the ,egyptians came to call it1 had 
gained by one full day upon the actual  

solar year--that is to say1 the heliacal
 rising of ,sothis1 the dog-star1 would 
not occur on new year's day of the      
faulty calendar1 but a day later4 ,and  
with each succeeding period of four     
years the day of heliacal rising1 which 
marked the true beginning of the        
year--and which still1 of course1       
coincided with the inundation--would    
have fallen another day behind the      
calendar4 ,in the course of #abj years  
an entire month would be lost2 and in   
#dhj years so great would become the    
shifting that the seasons would be      
altogether misplaced2 the actual time of
 inundations corresponding with what the
 calendar registered as the seed-time1  
and the actual seed-time in turn        
corresponding with the harvest-time of  
the calendar4  ,at first thought this   
seems very awkward and confusing1 but in
 all probability the effects were by no 
means so much so in actual practice4 ,we
 need go no farther than to our own     
experience to know that the names of    

seasons1 as of months and days1 come to 
have in the minds of most of us a purely
 conventional significance4 ,few of us  
stop to give a thought to the meaning of
 the words ,january1 ,february1 etc41   
except as they connote certain climatic 
conditions4 ,if1 then1 our own calendar 
were so defective that in the course of 
#abj years the month of ,february had   
shifted back to occupy the position of  
the original ,january1 the change would 
have been so gradual1 covering the      
period of two life-times or of four or  
five average generations1 that it might 
well escape general observation4  ,each 
succeeding generation of ,egyptians1    
then1 may not improbably have associated
 the names of the seasons with the      
contemporary climatic conditions1       
troubling themselves little with the    
thought that in an earlier age the      
climatic conditions for each period of  
the calendar were quite different4 ,we  
cannot well suppose1 however1 that the  
astronomer priests were oblivious to the

 true state of things4 ,upon them       
devolved the duty of predicting the time
 of the ,nile flood2 a duty they were   
enabled to perform without difficulty   
through observation of the rising of the
 solstitial sun and its ,sothic         
messenger4 ,to these observers it must  
finally have been apparent that the     
shifting of the seasons was at the rate 
of one day in four years2 this known1 it
 required no great mathematical skill to
 compute that this shifting would       
finally effect a complete circuit of the
 calendar1 so that after 7#d ,x #cfe 7  
#adfj years the first day of the        
calendar year would again coincide with 
the heliacal rising of ,sothis and with 
the coming of the ,nile flood4 ,in other
 words1 #adfa vague years or ,egyptian  
calendar years ,of #cfe days each       
correspond to #adfj actual solar years  
of #cfe #a_/d days each4 ,this period1  
measured thus by the heliacal rising of 
,sothis1 is spoken of as the ,sothic    
cycle4  ,to us who are trained from     

childhood to understand that the year   
consists of 7approximately7 #cfe #a_/d  
days1 and to know that the calendar may 
be regulated approximately by the       
introduction of an extra day every      
fourth year1 this recognition of the    
,sothic cycle seems simple enough4 ,yet 
if the average man of us will reflect   
how little he knows1 of his own         
knowledge1 of the exact length of the   
year1 it will soon become evident that  
the appreciation of the faults of the   
calendar and the knowledge of its       
periodical adjustment constituted a     
relatively high development of          
scientific knowledge on the part of the 
,egyptian astronomer4 ,it may be added  
that various efforts to reform the      
calendar were made by the ancient       
,egyptians1 but that they cannot be     
credited with a satisfactory solution of
 the problem2 for1 of course1 the       
,alexandrian scientists of the          
,ptolemaic period 7whose work we shall  
have occasion to review presently7 were 

not ,egyptians in any proper sense of   
the word1 but ,greeks4  ,since so much  
of the time of the astronomer priests   
was devoted to observation of the       
heavenly bodies1 it is not surprising   
that they should have mapped out the    
apparent course of the moon and the     
visible planets in their nightly tour of
 the heavens1 and that they should have 
divided the stars of the firmament into 
more or less arbitrary groups or        
constellations4 ,that they did so is    
evidenced by various sculptured         
representations of constellations       
corresponding to signs of the zodiac    
which still ornament the ceilings of    
various ancient temples4 ,unfortunately 
the decorative sense1 which was always  
predominant with the ,egyptian sculptor1
 led him to take various liberties with 
the distribution of figures in these    
representations of the constellations1  
so that the inferences drawn from them  
as to the exact map of the heavens as   
the ,egyptians conceived it cannot be   

fully relied upon4 ,it appears1 however1
 that the ,egyptian astronomer divided  
the zodiac into twenty-four decani1 or  
constellations4 ,the arbitrary groupings
 of figures1 with the aid of which these
 are delineated1 bear a close           
resemblance to the equally arbitrary    
outlines which we are still accustomed  
to use for the same purpose4   ,,ideas  
,,of ,,cosmology  ,in viewing this      
astronomical system of the ,egyptians   
one cannot avoid the question as to just
 what interpretation was placed upon it 
as regards the actual mechanical        
structure of the universe4 ,a proximal  
answer to the question is supplied us   
with a good deal of clearness4 ,it      
appears that the ,egyptian conceived the
 sky as a sort of tangible or material  
roof placed above the world1 and        
supported at each of its four corners by
 a column or pillar1 which was later on 
conceived as a great mountain4 ,the     
earth itself was conceived to be a      
rectangular box1 longer from north to   

south than from east to west2 the upper 
surface of this box1 upon which man     
lived1 being slightly concave and       
having1 of course1 the valley of the    
,nile as its centre4 ,the pillars of    
support were situated at the points of  
the compass2 the northern one being     
located beyond the ,mediterranean ,sea2 
the southern one away beyond the        
habitable regions towards the source of 
the ,nile1 and the eastern and western  
ones in equally inaccessible regions4   
,circling about the southern side of the
 world was a great river suspended in   
mid-air on something comparable to      
mountain cliffs2 on which river the     
sun-god made his daily course in a boat1
 fighting day by day his ever-recurring 
battle against ,set1 the demon of       
darkness4 ,the wide channel of this     
river enabled the sun-god to alter his  
course from time to time1 as he is      
observed to do2 in winter directing his 
bark towards the farther bank of the    
channel2 in summer gliding close to the 

nearer bank4 ,as to the stars1 they were
 similar lights1 suspended from the     
vault of the heaven2 but just how their 
observed motion of translation across   
the heavens was explained is not        
apparent4 ,it is more than probable that
 no one explanation was1 universally    
accepted4  ,in explaining the origin of 
this mechanism of the heavens1 the      
,egyptian imagination ran riot4 ,each   
separate part of ,egypt had its own     
hierarchy of gods1 and more or less its 
own explanations of cosmogony4 ,there   
does not appear to have been any one    
central story of creation that found    
universal acceptance1 any more than     
there was one specific deity everywhere 
recognized as supreme among the gods4   
,perhaps the most interesting of the    
cosmogonic myths was that which         
conceived that ,nuit1 the goddess of    
night1 had been torn from the arms of   
her husband1 ,sibu the earth-god1 and   
elevated to the sky despite her protests
 and her husband's struggles1 there to  

remain supported by her four limbs1     
which became metamorphosed into the     
pillars1 or mountains1 already          
mentioned4 ,the forcible elevation of   
,nuit had been effected on the day of   
creation by a new god1 ,shu1 who came   
forth from the primeval waters4 ,a      
painting on the mummy case of one       
,betuhamon1 now in the ,turin ,museum1  
illustrates1 in the graphic manner so   
characteristic of the ,egyptians1 this  
act of creation4 ,as ,maspero7#b7 points
 out1 the struggle of ,sibu resulted in 
contorted attitudes to which the        
irregularities of the earth's surface   
are to be ascribed4  ,in contemplating  
such a scheme of celestial mechanics as 
that just outlined1 one cannot avoid    
raising the question as to just the     
degree of literalness which the         
,egyptians themselves put upon it4 ,we  
know how essentially eye-minded the     
,egyptian was1 to use a modern          
psychological phrase--that is to say1   
how essential to him it seemed that all 

his conceptions should be visualized4   
,the evidences of this are everywhere3  
all his gods were made tangible2 he     
believed in the immortality of the soul1
 yet he could not conceive of such      
immortality except in association with  
an immortal body2 he must mummify the   
body of the dead1 else1 as he firmly    
believed1 the dissolution of the spirit 
would take place along with the         
dissolution of the body itself4 ,his    
world was peopled everywhere with       
spirits1 but they were spirits          
associated always with corporeal bodies2
 his gods found lodgment in sun and moon
 and stars2 in earth and water2 in the  
bodies of reptiles and birds and        
mammals4 ,he worshipped all of these    
things3 the sun1 the moon1 water1 earth1
 the spirit of the ,nile1 the ibis1 the 
cat1 the ram1 and apis the bull2 but1 so
 far as we can judge1 his imagination   
did not reach to the idea of an         
absolutely incorporeal deity4 ,similarly
 his conception of the mechanism of the 

heavens must be a tangibly mechanical   
one4 ,he must think of the starry       
firmament as a substantial entity which 
could not defy the law of gravitation1  
and which1 therefore1 must have the same
 manner of support as is required by the
 roof of a house or temple4 ,we know    
that this idea of the materiality of the
 firmament found elaborate expression in
 those later cosmological guesses which 
were to dominate the thought of ,europe 
until the time of ,newton4 ,we need not 
doubt1 therefore1 that for the ,egyptian
 this solid vault of the heavens had a  
very real existence4 ,if now and then   
some dreamer conceived the great bodies 
of the firmament as floating in a less  
material plenum--and such iconoclastic  
dreamers there are in all ages--no      
record of his musings has come down to  
us1 and we must freely admit that if    
such thoughts existed they were alien to
 the character of the ,egyptian mind as 
a whole4  ,while the ,egyptians         
conceived the heavenly bodies as the    

abiding-place of various of their       
deities1 it does not appear that they   
practised astrology in the later        
acceptance of that word4 ,this is the   
more remarkable since the conception of 
lucky and unlucky days was carried by   
the ,egyptians to the extremes of       
absurdity4 ,one day was lucky or        
unlucky1 says ,erman17#c7 according as a
 good or bad mythological incident took 
place on that day4 ,for instance1 the   
#ast of ,mechir1 on which day the sky   
was raised1 and the #bgth of ,athyr1    
when ,horus and1 ,set concluded peace   
together and divided the world between  
them1 were lucky days2 on the other     
hand1 the #adth of ,tybi1 on which ,isis
 and ,nephthys mourned for ,osiris1 was 
an unlucky day4 ,with the unlucky days1 
which1 fortunately1 were less in number 
than the lucky days1 they distinguished 
different degrees of ill-luck4 ,some    
were very unlucky1 others only          
threatened ill-luck1 and many1 like the 
#agth and the #bgth ,choiakh1 were      

partly good and partly bad according to 
the time of day4 ,lucky days might1 as a
 rule1 be disregarded4 ,at most it might
 be as well to visit some specially     
renowned temple1 or to 'celebrate a     
joyful day at home1' but no particular  
precautions were really necessary2 and1 
above all1 it was said1 'what thou also 
seest on the day is lucky4' ,it was     
quite otherwise with the unlucky and    
dangerous days1 which imposed so many   
and such great limitations on people    
that those who wished to be prudent were
 always obliged to bear them in mind    
when determining on any course of       
action4 ,certain conditions were easy to
 carry out4 ,music and singing were to  
be avoided on the #adth ,tybi1 the day  
of the mourning of ,osiris1 and no one  
was allowed to wash on the #afth ,tybi2 
whilst the name of ,set might not be    
pronounced on the #bdth of ,pharmuthi4  
,fish was forbidden on certain days2 and
 what was still more difficult in a     
country so rich in mice1 on the #abth of

 ,tybi no mouse might be seen4 ,the most
 tiresome prohibitions1 however1 were   
those which occurred not infrequently1  
namely1 those concerning work and going 
out3 for instance1 four times in ,paophi
 the people had to 'do nothing at all1' 
and five times to sit the whole day or  
half the day in the house2 and the same 
rule had to be observed each month4 ,it 
was impossible to rejoice if a child was
 born on the #bc;d of ,thoth2 the       
parents knew it could not live4 ,those  
born on the #bjth of ,choiakh would     
become blind1 and those born on the #c;d
 of ,choiakh1 deaf4   ,,charms ,,and    
,,incantations  ,where such conceptions 
as these pertained1 it goes without     
saying that charms and incantations     
intended to break the spell of the      
unlucky omens were equally prevalent4   
,such incantations consisted usually of 
the recitation of certain phrases based 
originally1 it would appear1 upon       
incidents in the history of the gods4   
,the words which the god had spoken in  

connection with some lucky incident     
would1 it was thought1 prove effective  
now in bringing good luck to the human  
supplicant--that is to say1 the magician
 hoped through repeating the words of   
the god to exercise the magic power of  
the god4 ,it was even possible1 with the
 aid of the magical observances1 partly 
to balk fate itself4 ,thus the person   
predestined through birth on an unlucky 
day to die of a serpent bite might      
postpone the time of this fateful       
visitation to extreme old age4 ,the like
 uncertainty attached to those spells   
which one person was supposed to be able
 to exercise over another4 ,it was held1
 for example1 that if something         
belonging to an individual1 such as a   
lock of hair or a paring of the nails1  
could be secured and incorporated in a  
waxen figure1 this figure would be      
intimately associated with the          
personality of that individual4 ,an     
enemy might thus secure occult power    
over one2 any indignity practised upon  

the waxen figure would result in like   
injury to its human prototype4 ,if the  
figure were bruised or beaten1 some     
accident would overtake its double2 if  
the image were placed over a fire1 the  
human being would fall into a fever1 and
 so on4 ,but1 of course1 such mysterious
 evils as these would be met and        
combated by equally mysterious          
processes2 and so it was that the entire
 art of medicine was closely linked with
 magical practices4 ,it was not1 indeed1
 held1 according to ,maspero1 that the  
magical spells of enemies were the sole 
sources of human ailments1 but one could
 never be sure to what extent such      
spells entered into the affliction2 and 
so closely were the human activities    
associated in the mind of the ,egyptian 
with one form or another of occult      
influences that purely physical         
conditions were at a discount4 ,in the  
later times1 at any rate1 the physician 
was usually a priest1 and there was a   
close association between the material  

and spiritual phases of therapeutics4   
,erman7#d7 tells us that the following  
formula had to be recited at the        
preparation of all medicaments3 ,that   
,isis might make free1 make free4 ,that 
,isis might make ,horus free from all   
evil that his brother ,set had done to  
him when he slew his father1 ,osiris4 ,o
 ,isis1 great enchantress1 free me1     
release me from all evil red things1    
from the fever of the god1 and the fever
 of the goddess1 from death and death   
from pain1 and the pain which comes over
 me2 as thou hast freed1 as thou hast   
released thy son ,horus1 whilst ,i enter
 into the fire and come forth from the  
water1 etc4 ,again1 when the invalid    
took the medicine1 an incantation had to
 be said which began thus3 ,come remedy1
 come drive it out of my heart1 out of  
these limbs strong in magic power with  
the remedy4 ,he adds3 ,there may have   
been a few rationalists amongst the     
,egyptian doctors1 for the number of    
magic formulae varies much in the       

different books4 ,the book that we have 
specially taken for a foundation for    
this account of ,egyptian medicine--the 
great papyrus of the eighteenth dynasty 
edited by ,ebers7#e7--;contains1 for    
instance1 far fewer exorcisms than some 
later writings with similar contents1   
probably because the doctor who compiled
 this book of recipes from older sources
 had very little liking for magic4  ,it 
must be understood1 however--indeed1    
what has just been said implies as      
much--that the physician by no means    
relied upon incantations alone2 on the  
contrary1 he equipped himself with an   
astonishing variety of medicaments4 ,he 
had a particular fondness for what the  
modern physician speaks of as a shot-gun
 prescription--one containing a great   
variety of ingredients4 ,not only did   
herbs of many kinds enter into this1 but
 such substances as lizard's blood1 the 
teeth of swine1 putrid meat1 the        
moisture from pigs' ears1 boiled horn1  
and numerous other even more repellent  

ingredients4 ,whoever is familiar with  
the formulae employed by ,european      
physicians even so recently as the      
eighteenth century will note a striking 
similarity here4 ,erman points out that 
the modern ,egyptian even of this day   
holds closely to many of the practices  
of his remote ancestor4 ,in particular1 
the efficacy of the beetle as a         
medicinal agent has stood the test of   
ages of practice4 ,against all kinds of 
witchcraft1 says an ancient formula1 a  
great scarabaeus beetle2 cut off his    
head and wings1 boil him2 put him in oil
 and lay him out2 then cook his head and
 wings1 put them in snake fat1 boil1 and
 let the patient drink the mixture4 ,the
 modern ,egyptian1 says ,erman1 uses    
almost precisely the same recipe1 except
 that the snake fat is replaced by      
modern oil4  ,in evidence of the        
importance which was attached to        
practical medicine in the ,egypt of an  
early day1 the names of several         
physicians have come down to us from an 

age which has preserved very few names  
indeed1 save those of kings4 ,in        
reference to this ,erman says7#f73 ,we  
still know the names of some of the     
early body physicians of this time2     
,sechmetna'eonch1 'chief physician of   
the ,pharaoh1' and ,nesmenan his chief1 
the 'superintendent of the physicians of
 the ,pharaoh4' ,the priests also of the
 lioness-headed goddess ,sechmet seem to
 have been famed for their medical      
wisdom1 whilst the son of this goddess1 
the demi-god ,imhotep1 was in later     
times considered to be the creator of   
medical knowledge4 ,these ancient       
doctors of the ,new ,empire do not seem 
to have improved upon the older         
conceptions about the construction of   
the human body4  ,as to the actual      
scientific attainments of the ,egyptian 
physician1 it is difficult to speak with
 precision4 ,despite the cumbersome     
formulae and the grotesque incantations1
 we need not doubt that a certain       
practical value attended his            

therapeutics4 ,he practised almost pure 
empiricism1 however1 and certainly it   
must have been almost impossible to     
determine which ones1 if any1 of the    
numerous ingredients of the prescription
 had real efficacy4  ,the practical     
anatomical knowledge of the physician1  
there is every reason to believe1 was   
extremely limited4 ,at first thought it 
might seem that the practice of         
embalming would have led to the custom  
of dissecting human bodies1 and that the
 ,egyptians1 as a result of this1 would 
have excelled in the knowledge of       
anatomy4 ,but the actual results were   
rather the reverse of this4 ,embalming  
the dead1 it must be recalled1 was a    
purely religious observance4 ,it took   
place under the superintendence of the  
priests1 but so great was the reverence 
for the human body that the priests     
themselves were not permitted to make   
the abdominal incision which was a      
necessary preliminary of the process4   
,this incision1 as we are informed by   

both ,herodotus7#g7 and ,diodorus7#h71  
was made by a special officer1 whose    
status1 if we may believe the explicit  
statement of ,diodorus1 was quite       
comparable to that of the modern        
hangman4 ,the paraschistas1 as he was   
called1 having performed his necessary  
but obnoxious function1 with the aid of 
a sharp ,ethiopian stone1 retired       
hastily1 leaving the remaining processes
 to the priests4 ,these1 however1       
confined their observations to the      
abdominal viscera2 under no             
consideration did they make other       
incisions in the body4 ,it follows1     
therefore1 that their opportunity for   
anatomical observations was most        
limited4  ,since even the necessary     
mutilation inflicted on the corpse was  
regarded with such horror1 it follows   
that anything in the way of dissection  
for a less sacred purpose was absolutely
 prohibited4 ,probably the same         
prohibition extended to a large number  
of animals1 since most of these were    

held sacred in one part of ,egypt or    
another4 ,moreover1 there is nothing in 
what we know of the ,egyptian mind to   
suggest the probability that any        
,egyptian physician would make extensive
 anatomical observations for the love of
 pure knowledge4 ,all ,egyptian science 
is eminently practical4 ,if we think of 
the ,egyptian as mysterious1 it is      
because of the superstitious observances
 that we everywhere associate with his  
daily acts2 but these1 as we have       
already tried to make clear1 were really
 based on scientific observations of a  
kind1 and the attempt at true inferences
 from these observations4 ,but whether  
or not the ,egyptian physician desired  
anatomical knowledge1 the results of his
 inquiries were certainly most meagre4  
,the essentials of his system had to do 
with a series of vessels1 alleged to be 
twenty-two or twenty-four in number1    
which penetrated the head and were      
distributed in pairs to the various     
members of the body1 and which were     

vaguely thought of as carriers of water1
 air1 excretory fluids1 etc4 ,yet back  
of this vagueness1 as must not be       
overlooked1 there was an all-essential  
recognition of the heart as the central 
vascular organ4 ,the heart is called the
 beginning of all the members4 ,its     
vessels1 we are told1 lead to all the   
members2 whether the doctor lays his    
finger on the forehead1 on the back of  
the head1 on the hands1 on the place of 
the stomach 7871 on the arms1 or on the 
feet1 everywhere he meets with the      
heart1 because its vessels lead to all  
the members47#i7 ,this recognition of   
the pulse must be credited to the       
,egyptian physician as a piece of       
practical knowledge1 in some measure    
off-setting the vagueness of his        
anatomical theories4   ,,abstract       
,,science  ,but1 indeed1 practical      
knowledge was1 as has been said over and
 over1 the essential characteristic of  
,egyptian science4 ,yet another         
illustration of this is furnished us if 

we turn to the more abstract departments
 of thought and inquire what were the   
,egyptian attempts in such a field as   
mathematics4 ,the answer does not tend  
greatly to increase our admiration for  
the ,egyptian mind4 ,we are led to see1 
indeed1 that the ,egyptian merchant was 
able to perform all the computations    
necessary to his craft1 but we are      
forced to conclude that the knowledge of
 numbers scarcely extended beyond this1 
and that even here the methods of       
reckoning were tedious and cumbersome4  
,our knowledge of the subject rests     
largely upon the so-called papyrus      
,rhind17#aj7 which is a sort of         
mythological hand-book of the ancient   
,egyptians4 ,analyzing this document1   
,professor ,erman concludes that the    
knowledge of the ,egyptians was adequate
 to all practical requirements4 ,their  
mathematics taught them how in the      
exchange of bread for beer the          
respective value was to be determined   
when converted into a quantity of corn2 

how to reckon the size of a field2 how  
to determine how a given quantity of    
corn would go into a granary of a       
certain size1 and like every-day        
problems4 ,yet they were obliged to make
 some of their simple computations in a 
very roundabout way4 ,it would appear1  
for example1 that their mental          
arithmetic did not enable them to       
multiply by a number larger than two1   
and that they did not reach a clear     
conception of complex fractional        
numbers4 ,they did1 indeed1 recognize   
that each part of an object divided into
 #aj pieces became #a_/aj of that       
object2 they even grasped the idea of   
#b_/c this being a conception easily    
visualized2 but they apparently did not 
visualize such a conception as #c_/aj   
except in the crude form of #a_/aj plus 
#a_/aj plus #a_/aj4 ,their entire idea  
of division seems defective4 ,they      
viewed the subject from the more        
elementary stand-point of               
multiplication4 ,thus1 in order to find 

out how many times #g is contained in   
#gg1 an existing example shows that the 
numbers representing #a times #g1 #b    
times #g1 #d times #g1 #h times #g were 
set down successively and various       
experimental additions made to find out 
which sets of these numbers aggregated  
#gg4    --#a #g   --#b #ad   --#d #bh   
--#h #ef  ,a line before the first1     
second1 and fourth of these numbers     
indicated that it is necessary to       
multiply #g by #a plus #b plus #h--that 
is1 by #aa1 in order to obtain #gg2 that
 is to say1 #g goes #aa times in #gg4   
,all this seems very cumbersome indeed1 
yet we must not overlook the fact that  
the process which goes on in our own    
minds in performing such a problem as   
this is precisely similar1 except that  
we have learned to slur over certain of 
the intermediate steps with the aid of a
 memorized multiplication table4 ,in the
 last analysis1 division is only the    
obverse side of multiplication1 and any 
one who has not learned his             

multiplication table is reduced to some 
such expedient as that of the ,egyptian4
 ,indeed1 whenever we pass beyond the   
range of our memorized multiplication   
table-which for most of us ends with the
 twelves--the experimental character of 
the trial multiplication through which  
division is finally effected does not so
 greatly differ from the experimental   
efforts which the ,egyptian was obliged 
to apply to smaller numbers4  ,despite  
his defective comprehension of          
fractions1 the ,egyptian was able to    
work out problems of relative           
complexity2 for example1 he could       
determine the answer of such a problem  
as this3 a number together with its     
fifth part makes #ba2 what is the       
number8 ,the process by which the       
,egyptian solved this problem seems very
 cumbersome to any one for whom a       
rudimentary knowledge of algebra makes  
it simple1 yet the method which we      
employ differs only in that we are      
enabled1 thanks to our hypothetical x1  

to make a short cut1 and the essential  
fact must not be overlooked that the    
,egyptian reached a correct solution of 
the problem4 ,with all due desire to    
give credit1 however1 the fact remains  
that the ,egyptian was but a crude      
mathematician4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 it  
is impossible to admire him for any high
 development of theoretical science4    
,first1 last1 and all the time1 he was  
practical1 and there is nothing to show 
that the thought of science for its own 
sake1 for the mere love of knowing1 ever
 entered his head4  ,in general1 then1  
we must admit that the ,egyptian had not
 progressed far in the hard way of      
abstract thinking4 ,he worshipped       
everything about him because he feared  
the result of failing to do so4 ,he     
embalmed the dead lest the spirit of the
 neglected one might come to torment    
him4 ,eye-minded as he was1 he came to  
have an artistic sense1 to love         
decorative effects4 ,but he let these   
always take precedence over his sense of

 truth2 as1 for example1 when he        
modified his lists of kings at ,abydos  
to fit the space which the architect had
 left to be filled2 he had no historical
 sense to show to him that truth should 
take precedence over mere decoration4   
,and everywhere he lived in the same    
happy-go-lucky way4 ,he loved personal  
ease1 the pleasures of the table1 the   
luxuries of life1 games1 recreations1   
festivals4 ,he took no heed for the     
morrow1 except as the morrow might      
minister to his personal needs4         
,essentially a sensual being1 he        
scarcely conceived the meaning of the   
intellectual life in the modern sense of
 the term4 ,he had perforce learned some
 things about astronomy1 because these  
were necessary to his worship of the    
gods2 about practical medicine1 because 
this ministered to his material needs2  
about practical arithmetic1 because this
 aided him in every-day affairs4 ,the   
bare rudiments of an historical science 
may be said to be crudely outlined in   

his defective lists of kings4 ,but      
beyond this he did not go4 ,science as  
science1 and for its own sake1 was      
unknown to him4 ,he had gods for all    
material functions1 and festivals in    
honor of every god2 but there was no    
goddess of mere wisdom in his pantheon4 
,the conception of ,minerva was reserved
 for the creative genius of another     
people4     ,,iii4 ,,science ,,of       
,,babylonia ,,and ,,assyria  ,throughout
 classical antiquity ,egyptian science  
was famous4 ,we know that ,plato spent  
some years in ,egypt in the hope of     
penetrating the alleged mysteries of its
 fabled learning2 and the story of the  
,egyptian priest who patronizingly      
assured ,solon that the ,greeks were but
 babes was quoted everywhere without    
disapproval4 ,even so late as the time  
of ,augustus1 we find ,diodorus1 the    
,sicilian1 looking back with veneration 
upon the ,oriental learning1 to which   
,pliny also refers with unbounded       
respect4 ,from what we have seen of     

,egyptian science1 all this furnishes us
 with a somewhat striking commentary    
upon the attainments of the ,greeks and 
,romans themselves4 ,to refer at length 
to this would be to anticipate our      
purpose2 what now concerns us is to     
recall that all along there was another 
nation1 or group of nations1 that       
disputed the palm for scientific        
attainments4 ,this group of nations     
found a home in the valley of the       
,tigris and ,euphrates4 ,their land was 
named ,mesopotamia by the ,greeks1      
because a large part of it lay between  
the two rivers just mentioned4 ,the     
peoples themselves are familiar to every
 one as the ,babylonians and the        
,assyrians4 ,these peoples were of      
,semitic stock--allied1 therefore1 to   
the ancient ,hebrews and ,phoenicians   
and of the same racial stem with the    
,arameans and ,arabs4  ,the great       
capital of the ,babylonians during the  
later period of their history was the   
famed city of ,babylon itself2 the most 

famous capital of the ,assyrians was    
,nineveh1 that city to which1 as every  
,bible-student will recall1 the prophet 
,jonah was journeying when he had a     
much-exploited experience1 the record of
 which forms no part of scientific      
annals4 ,it was the kings of ,assyria1  
issuing from their palaces in ,nineveh1 
who dominated the civilization of       
,western ,asia during the heyday of     
,hebrew history1 and whose deeds are so 
frequently mentioned in the ,hebrew     
chronicles4 ,later on1 in the year #fjf 
,b4,c41 ,nineveh was overthrown by the  
,medes7#a7 and ,babylonians4 ,the famous
 city was completely destroyed1 never to
 be rebuilt4 ,babylon1 however1 though  
conquered subsequently by ,cyrus and    
held in subjection by ,darius17#b7 the  
,persian kings1 continued to hold sway  
as a great world-capital for some       
centuries4 ,the last great historical   
event that occurred within its walls was
 the death of ,alexander the ,great1    
which took place there in the year #cbb 

,b4,c4  ,in the time of ,herodotus the  
fame of ,babylon was at its height1 and 
the father of history has left us a most
 entertaining account of what he saw    
when he visited the wonderful capital4  
,unfortunately1 ,herodotus was not a    
scholar in the proper acceptance of the 
term4 ,he probably had no inkling of the
 ,babylonian language1 so the voluminous
 records of its literature were entirely
 shut off from his observation4 ,he     
therefore enlightens us but little      
regarding the science of the            
,babylonians1 though his observations on
 their practical civilization give us   
incidental references of no small       
importance4 ,somewhat more detailed     
references to the scientific attainments
 of the ,babylonians are found in the   
fragments that have come down to us of  
the writings of the great ,babylonian   
historian1 ,berosus17#c7 who was born in
 ,babylon about #ccj ,b4,c41 and who    
was1 therefore1 a contemporary of       
,alexander the ,great4 ,but the writings

 of ,berosus also1 or at least such     
parts of them as have come down to us1  
leave very much to be desired in point  
of explicitness4 ,they give some        
glimpses of ,babylonian history1 and    
they detail at some length the strange  
mythical tales of creation that entered 
into the ,babylonian conception of      
cosmogony--details which find their     
counterpart in the allied recitals of   
the ,hebrews4 ,but taken all in all1 the
 glimpses of the actual state of        
,chaldean7#d7 learning1 as it was       
commonly called1 amounted to scarcely   
more than vague wonder-tales4 ,no one   
really knew just what interpretation to 
put upon these tales until the explorers
 of the nineteenth century had excavated
 the ruins of the ,babylonian and       
,assyrian cities1 bringing to light the 
relics of their wonderful civilization4 
,but these relics fortunately included  
vast numbers of written documents1      
inscribed on tablets1 prisms1 and       
cylinders of terra-cotta4 ,when         

nineteenth-century scholarship had      
penetrated the mysteries of the strange 
script1 and ferreted out the secrets of 
an unknown tongue1 the world at last was
 in possession of authentic records by  
which the traditions regarding the      
,babylonians and ,assyrians could be    
tested4 ,thanks to these materials1 a   
new science commonly spoken of as       
,assyriology came into being1 and a most
 important chapter of human history was 
brought to light4 ,it became apparent   
that the ,greek ideas concerning        
,mesopotamia1 though vague in the       
extreme1 were founded on fact4 ,no one  
any longer questions that the           
,mesopotamian civilization was fully on 
a par with that of ,egypt2 indeed1 it is
 rather held that superiority lay with  
the ,asiatics4 ,certainly1 in point of  
purely scientific attainments1 the      
,babylonians passed somewhat beyond     
their ,egyptian competitors4 ,all the   
evidence seems to suggest also that the 
,babylonian civilization was even more  

ancient than that of ,egypt4 ,the       
precise dates are here in dispute2 nor  
for our present purpose need they       
greatly concern us4 ,but the            
,assyrio-,babylonian records have much  
greater historical accuracy as regards  
matters of chronology than have the     
,egyptian1 and it is believed that our  
knowledge of the early ,babylonian      
history is carried back1 with some      
certainty1 to ,king ,sargon of          
,agade17#e7 for whom the date #chjj     
,b4,c4 is generally accepted2 while     
somewhat vaguer records give us glimpses
 of periods as remote as the sixth1     
perhaps even the seventh or eighth      
millenniums before our era4  ,at a very 
early period ,babylon itself was not a  
capital and ,nineveh had not come into  
existence4 ,the important cities1 such  
as ,nippur and ,shirpurla1 were situated
 farther to the south4 ,it is on the    
site of these cities that the recent    
excavations have been made1 such as     
those of the ,university of             

,pennsylvania expeditions at            
,nippur17#f7 which are giving us        
glimpses into remoter recesses of the   
historical period4  ,even if we         
disregard the more problematical early  
dates1 we are still concerned with the  
records of a civilization extending     
unbroken throughout a period of about   
four thousand years2 the actual period  
is in all probability twice or thrice   
that4 ,naturally enough1 the current of 
history is not an unbroken stream       
throughout this long epoch4 ,it appears 
that at least two utterly different     
ethnic elements are involved4 ,a        
preponderance of evidence seems to show 
that the earliest civilized inhabitants 
of ,mesopotamia were not ,semitic1 but  
an alien race1 which is now commonly    
spoken of as ,sumerian4 ,this people1 of
 whom we catch glimpses chiefly through 
the records of its successors1 appears  
to have been subjugated or overthrown by
 ,semitic invaders1 who1 coming perhaps 
from ,arabia 7their origin is in        

dispute71 took possession of the region 
of the ,tigris and ,euphrates1 learned  
from the ,sumerians many of the useful  
arts1 and1 partly perhaps because of    
their mixed lineage1 were enabled to    
develop the most wonderful civilization 
of antiquity4 ,could we analyze the     
details of this civilization from its   
earliest to its latest period we should 
of course find the same changes which   
always attend racial progress and decay4
 ,we should then be able1 no doubt1 to  
speak of certain golden epochs and their
 periods of decline4 ,to a certain      
meagre extent we are able to do this    
now4 ,we know1 for example1 that ,king  
,khammurabi1 who lived about #bbjj      
,b4,c41 was a great law-giver1 the      
ancient prototype of ,justinian2 and the
 epochs of such ,assyrian kings as      
,sargon ,,ii41 ,asshurnazirpal1         
,sennacherib1 and ,asshurbanapal stand  
out with much distinctness4 ,yet1 as a  
whole1 the record does not enable us to 
trace with clearness the progress of    

scientific thought4 ,at best we can gain
 fewer glimpses in this direction than  
in almost any other1 for it is the      
record of war and conquest rather than  
of the peaceful arts that commanded the 
attention of the ancient scribe4 ,so in 
dealing with the scientific achievements
 of these peoples1 we shall perforce    
consider their varied civilizations as a
 unity1 and attempt1 as best we may1 to 
summarize their achievements as a whole4
 ,for the most part1 we shall not       
attempt to discriminate as to what share
 in the final product was due to        
,sumerian1 what to ,babylonian1 and what
 to ,assyrian4 ,we shall speak of       
,babylonian science as including all    
these elements2 and drawing our         
information chiefly from the relatively 
late ,assyrian and ,babylonian sources1 
which1 therefore1 represent the         
culminating achievements of all these   
ages of effort1 we shall attempt to     
discover what was the actual status of  
,mesopotamian science at its climax4 ,in

 so far as we succeed1 we shall be able 
to judge what scientific heritage       
,europe received from the ,orient2 for  
in the records of ,babylonian science we
 have to do with the ,eastern mind at   
its best4 ,let us turn to the specific  
inquiry as to the achievements of the   
,chaldean scientist whose fame so       
dazzled the eyes of his contemporaries  
of the classic world4   ,,babylonian    
,,astronomy  ,our first concern         
naturally is astronomy1 this being here1
 as in ,egypt1 the first-born and the   
most important of the sciences4 ,the    
fame of the ,chaldean astronomer was    
indeed what chiefly commanded the       
admiration of the ,greeks1 and it was   
through the results of astronomical     
observations that ,babylonia transmitted
 her most important influences to the   
,western world4 ,our division of time is
 of ,babylonian origin1 says            
,hornmel27#g7 to ,babylonia we owe the  
week of seven days1 with the names of   
the planets for the days of the week1   

and the division into hours and months4 
,hence the almost personal interest     
which we of to-day must needs feel in   
the efforts of the ,babylonian          
star-gazer4  ,it must not be supposed1  
however1 that the ,chaldean astronomer  
had made any very extraordinary advances
 upon the knowledge of the ,egyptian    
watchers of the night4 ,after all1 it   
required patient observation rather than
 any peculiar genius in the observer to 
note in the course of time such broad   
astronomical conditions as the          
regularity of the moon's phases1 and the
 relation of the lunar periods to the   
longer periodical oscillations of the   
sun4 ,nor could the curious wanderings  
of the planets escape the attention of  
even a moderately keen observer4 ,the   
chief distinction between the ,chaldean 
and ,egyptian astronomers appears to    
have consisted in the relative          
importance they attached to various of  
the phenomena which they both observed4 
,the ,egyptian1 as we have seen1 centred

 his attention upon the sun4 ,that      
luminary was the abode of one of his    
most important gods4 ,his worship was   
essentially solar4 ,the ,babylonian1 on 
the other hand1 appears to have been    
peculiarly impressed with the importance
 of the moon4 ,he could not1 of course1 
overlook the attention-compelling fact  
of the solar year2 but his unit of time 
was the lunar period of thirty days1 and
 his year consisted of twelve lunar     
periods1 or #cfj days4 ,he was perfectly
 aware1 however1 that this period did   
not coincide with the actual year2 but  
the relative unimportance which he      
ascribed to the solar year is evidenced 
by the fact that he interpolated an     
added month to adjust the calendar only 
once in six years4 ,indeed1 it would    
appear that the ,babylonians and        
,assyrians did not adopt precisely the  
same method of adjusting the calendar1  
since the ,babylonians had two          
intercular months called ,elul and      
,adar1 whereas the ,assyrians had only a

 single such month1 called the second   
,adar47#h7 7,the ,ve',adar of the       
,hebrews47 ,this diversity further      
emphasizes the fact that it was the     
lunar period which received chief       
attention1 the adjustment of this period
 with the solar seasons being a         
necessary expedient of secondary        
importance4 ,it is held that these lunar
 periods have often been made to do     
service for years in the ,babylonian    
computations and in the allied          
computations of the early ,hebrews4 ,the
 lives of the ,hebrew patriarchs1 for   
example1 as recorded in the ,bible1 are 
perhaps reckoned in lunar years4        
,divided by twelve1 the years of        
,methuselah accord fairly with the usual
 experience of mankind4  ,yet1 on the   
other hand1 the convenience of the solar
 year in computing long periods of time 
was not unrecognized1 since this period 
is utilized in reckoning the reigns of  
the ,assyrian kings4 ,it may be added   
that the reign of a king was not        

reckoned from the day of his accession1 
but from the ,assyrian new year's day1  
either before or after the day of       
accession4 ,there does not appear to    
have been any fixed rule as to which new
 year's day should be chosen2 but from  
the number of known cases1 it appears to
 have been the general practice to count
 the reigning years from the new year's 
day nearest the accession1 and to call  
the period between the accession day and
 the first new year's day 'the beginning
 of the reign1' when the year from the  
new year's day was called the first     
year1 and the following ones were       
brought successively from it4           
,notwithstanding1 in the dates of       
several ,assyrian and ,babylonian       
sovereigns there are cases of the year  
of accession being considered as the    
first year1 thus giving two reckonings  
for the reigns of various monarchs1     
among others1 ,shalmaneser1             
,sennacherib1 ,nebuchadrezzar47#i7 ,this
 uncertainty as to the years of         

reckoning again emphasizes the fact that
 the solar year did not have for the    
,assyrian chronology quite the same     
significance that it has for us4  ,the  
,assyrian month commenced on the evening
 when the new moon was first observed1  
or1 in case the moon was not visible1   
the new month started thirty days after 
the last month4 ,since the actual lunar 
period is about twenty-nine and one-half
 days1 a practical adjustment was       
required between the months themselves1 
and this was probably effected by       
counting alternate months as ,only #bi  
days in length4 ,mr4 ,r4 ,campbell      
,thompson7#aj7 is led by his studies of 
the astrological tablets to emphasize   
this fact4 ,he believes that the object 
of the astrological reports which       
related to the appearance of the moon   
and sun was to help determine and       
foretell the length of the lunar month4 
,mr4 ,thompson believes also that there 
is evidence to show that the interculary
 month was added at a period less than  

six years4 ,in point of fact1 it does   
not appear to be quite clearly          
established as to precisely how the     
adjustment of days with the lunar       
months1 and lunar months with the solar 
year1 was effected4 ,it is clear1       
however1 according to ,smith1 that the  
first #bh days of every month were      
divided into four weeks of seven days   
each2 the seventh1 fourteenth1          
twenty-first1 twenty-eighth days        
respectively being ,sabbaths1 and that  
there was a general prohibition of work 
on these days4 ,here1 of course1 is the 
foundation of the ,hebrew system of     
,sabbatical days which we have          
inherited4 ,the sacredness of the number
 seven itself--the belief in which has  
not been quite shaken off even to this  
day--was deduced by the ,assyrian       
astronomer from his observation of the  
seven planetary bodies--namely1 ,sin    
7the moon71 ,samas 7the sun71           
,umunpawddu 7,jupiter71 ,dilbat         
7,venus71 ,kaimanu 7,saturn71 ,gudud    

7,mercury71 ,mustabarru-mutanu          
7,mars747#aa7 ,twelve lunar periods1    
making up approximately the solar year1 
gave peculiar importance to the number  
twelve also4 ,thus the zodiac was       
divided into twelve signs which         
astronomers of all subsequent times have
 continued to recognize2 and the        
duodecimal system of counting took      
precedence with the ,babylonian         
mathematicians over the more primitive  
and1 as it seems to us1 more            
satisfactory decimal system4  ,another  
discrepancy between the ,babylonian and 
,egyptian years appears in the fact that
 the ,babylonian new year dates from    
about the period of the vernal equinox  
and not from the solstice4 ,lockyer     
associates this with the fact that the  
periodical inundation of the ,tigris and
 ,euphrates occurs about the equinoctial
 period1 whereas1 as we have seen1 the  
,nile flood comes at the time of the    
solstice4 ,it is but natural that so    
important a phenomenon as the ,nile     

flood should make a strong impression   
upon the minds of a people living in a  
valley4 ,the fact that occasional       
excessive inundations have led to most  
disastrous results is evidenced in the  
incorporation of stories of the almost  
total destruction of mankind by such    
floods among the myth tales of all      
peoples who reside in valley countries4 
,the flooding of the ,tigris and        
,euphrates had not1 it is true1 quite   
the same significance for the           
,mesopotamians that the ,nile flood had 
for the ,egyptians4 ,nevertheless it was
 a most important phenomenon1 and may   
very readily be imagined to have been   
the most tangible index to the seasons4 
,but in recognizing the time of the     
inundations and the vernal equinox1 the 
,assyrians did not dethrone the moon    
from its accustomed precedence1 for the 
year was reckoned as commencing not     
precisely at the vernal equinox1 but at 
the new moon next before the equinox4   
,,astrology  ,beyond marking the        

seasons1 the chief interests that       
actuated the ,babylonian astronomer in  
his observations were astrological4     
,after quoting ,diodorus to the effect  
that the ,babylonian priests observed   
the position of certain stars in order  
to cast horoscopes1 ,thompson tells us  
that from a very early day the very name
 ,chaldean became synonymous with       
magician4 ,he adds that from            
,mesopotamia1 by way of ,greece and     
,rome1 a certain amount of ,babylonian  
astrology made its way among the nations
 of the west1 and it is quite probable  
that many superstitions which we        
commonly record as the peculiar product 
of western civilization took their      
origin from those of the early dwellers 
on the alluvial lands of ,mesopotamia4  
,one ,assurbanipal1 king of ,assyria    
,b4,c4 #ffh-fbf1 added to the royal     
library at ,nineveh his contribution of 
tablets1 which included many series of  
documents which related exclusively to  
the astrology of the ancient            

,babylonians1 who in turn had borrowed  
it with modifications from the ,sumerian
 invaders of the country4 ,among these  
must be mentioned the series which was  
commonly called 'the ,day of ,bel1' and 
which was decreed by the learned to have
 been written in the time of the great  
,sargon ,i41 king of ,agade1 #chjj      
,b4,c4 ,with such ancient works as these
 to guide them1 the profession of       
deducing omens from daily events reached
 such a pitch of importance in the last 
,assyrian ,empire that a system of      
making periodical reports came into     
being4 ,by these the king was informed  
of all the occurrences in the heavens   
and on earth1 and the results of        
astrological studies in respect to after
 events4 ,the heads of the astrological 
profession were men of high rank and    
position1 and their office was          
hereditary4 ,the variety of information 
contained in these reports is best      
gathered from the fact that they were   
sent from cities as far removed from    

each other as ,assur in the north and   
,erech in the south1 and it can only be 
assumed that they were despatched by    
runners1 or men mounted on swift horses4
 ,as reports also came from ,dilbat1    
,kutba1 ,nippur1 and ,bursippa1 all     
cities of ancient foundation1 the king  
was probably well acquainted with the   
general course of events in his         
empire47#ab7  ,from certain passages in 
the astrological tablets1 ,thompson     
draws the interesting conclusion that   
the ,chaldean astronomers were          
acquainted with some kind of a machine  
for reckoning time4 ,he finds in one of 
the tablets a phrase which he interprets
 to mean measure-governor1 and he infers
 from this the existence of a kind of a 
calculator4 ,he calls attention also to 
the fact that ,sextus ,empiricus7#ac7   
states that the clepsydra was known to  
the ,chaldeans1 and that ,herodotus     
asserts that the ,greeks borrowed       
certain measures of time from the       
,babylonians4 ,he finds further         

corroboration in the fact that the      
,babylonians had a time-measure by which
 they divided the day and the night2 a  
measure called kasbu1 which contained   
two hours4 ,in a report relating to the 
day of the vernal equinox1 it is stated 
that there are six kasbu of the day and 
six kasbu of the night4  ,while the     
astrologers deduced their omens from all
 the celestial bodies known to them1    
they chiefly gave attention to the moon1
 noting with great care the shape of its
 horns1 and deducing such a conclusion  
as that if the horns are pointed the    
king will overcome whatever he goreth1  
and that when the moon is low at its    
appearance1 the submission 7of the      
people7 of a far country will come47#ad7
 ,the relations of the moon and sun were
 a source of constant observation1 it   
being noted whether the sun and moon    
were seen together above the horizon2   
whether one set as the other rose1 and  
the like4 ,and whatever the phenomena1  
there was always1 of course1 a direct   

association between such phenomena and  
the well-being of human kind--in        
particular the king1 at whose instance1 
and doubtless at whose expense1 the     
observations were carried out4  ,from   
omens associated with the heavenly      
bodies it is but a step to omens based  
upon other phenomena of nature1 and we1 
shall see in a moment that the          
,babylonian prophets made free use of   
their opportunities in this direction   
also4 ,but before we turn from the field
 of astronomy1 it will be well to inform
 ourselves as to what system the        
,chaldean astronomer had invented in    
explanation of the mechanics of the     
universe4 ,our answer to this inquiry is
 not quite as definite as could be      
desired1 the vagueness of the records1  
no doubt1 coinciding with the like      
vagueness in the minds of the ,chaldeans
 themselves4 ,so far as we can interpret
 the somewhat mystical references that  
have come down to us1 however1 the      
,babylonian cosmology would seem to have

 represented the earth as a circular    
plane surrounded by a great circular    
river1 beyond which rose an impregnable 
barrier of mountains1 and resting upon  
an infinite sea of waters4 ,the material
 vault of the heavens was supposed to   
find support upon the outlying circle of
 mountains4 ,but the precise mechanism  
through which the observed revolution of
 the heavenly bodies was effected       
remains here1 as with the ,egyptian     
cosmology1 somewhat conjectural4 ,the   
simple fact would appear to be that1 for
 the ,chaldeans as for the ,egyptians1  
despite their most careful observations 
of the tangible phenomena of the        
heavens1 no really satisfactory         
mechanical conception of the cosmos was 
attainable4 ,we shall see in due course 
by what faltering steps the ,european   
imagination advanced from the crude     
ideas of ,egypt and ,babylonia to the   
relatively clear vision of ,newton and  
,laplace4   ,,chaldean ,,magic  ,we turn
 now from the field of the astrologer to

 the closely allied province of         
,chaldean magic--a province which       
includes the other2 which1 indeed1 is so
 all-encompassing as scarcely to leave  
any phase of ,babylonian thought outside
 its bounds4  ,the tablets having to do 
with omens1 exorcisms1 and the like     
magic practices make up an astonishingly
 large proportion of the ,babylonian    
records4 ,in viewing them it is hard to 
avoid the conclusion that the           
superstitions which they evidenced      
absolutely dominated the life of the    
,babylonians of every degree4 ,yet it   
must not be forgotten that the greatest 
inconsistencies everywhere exist between
 the superstitious beliefs of a people  
and the practical observances of that   
people4 ,no other problem is so         
difficult for the historian as that     
which confronts him when he endeavors to
 penetrate the mysteries of an alien    
religion2 and when1 as in the present   
case1 the superstitions involved have   
been transmitted from generation to     

generation1 their exact practical phases
 as interpreted by any particular       
generation must be somewhat             
problematical4 ,the tablets upon which  
our knowledge of these omens is based   
are many of them from the libraries of  
the later kings of ,nineveh2 but the    
omens themselves are1 in such cases1    
inscribed in the original ,accadian form
 in which they have come down from      
remote ages1 accompanied by an ,assyrian
 translation4 ,thus the superstitions   
involved had back of them hundreds of   
years1 even thousands of years1 of      
precedent2 and we need not doubt that   
the ideas with which they are associated
 were interwoven with almost every      
thought and deed of the life of the     
people4 ,professor ,sayce assures us    
that the ,assyrians and ,babylonians    
counted no fewer than three hundred     
spirits of heaven1 and six hundred      
spirits of earth4 ,like the ,jews of the
 ,talmud1 he says1 they believed that   
the world was swarming with noxious     

spirits1 who produced the various       
diseases to which man is liable1 and    
might be swallowed with the food and    
drink which support life4 ,fox ,talbot  
was inclined to believe that exorcisms  
were the exclusive means used to drive  
away the tormenting spirits4 ,this seems
 unlikely1 considering the uniform      
association of drugs with the magical   
practices among their people4 ,yet there
 is certainly a strange silence of the  
tablets in regard to medicine4 ,talbot  
tells us that sometimes divine images   
were brought into the sick-chamber1 and 
written texts taken from holy books were
 placed on the walls and bound around   
the sick man's members4 ,if these       
failed1 recourse was had to the         
influence of the mamit1 which the evil  
powers were unable to resist4 ,on a     
tablet1 written in the ,accadian        
language only1 the ,assyrian version    
being taken1 however1 was found the     
following3    #a4 ,take a white cloth4  
,in it place the mamit1   #b4 in the    

sick man's right hand4   #c4 ,take a    
black cloth1   #d4 wrap it around his   
left hand4   #e4 ,then all the evil     
spirits 7a long list of them is given7  
#f4 and the sins which he has committed 
#g4 shall quit their hold of him   #h4  
and shall never return4   ,the symbolism
 of the black cloth in the left hand    
seems evident4 ,the dying man repents of
 his former evil deeds1 and he puts his 
trust in holiness1 symbolized by the    
white cloth in his right hand4 ,then    
follow some obscure lines about the     
spirits3    #a4 ,their heads shall      
remove from his head4   #b4 ,their heads
 shall let go his hands4   #c4 ,their   
feet shall depart from his feet4  ,which
 perhaps may be explained thus3 we learn
 from another tablet that the various   
classes of evil spirits troubled        
different parts of the body2 some       
injured the head1 some the hands and the
 feet1 etc41 therefore the passage      
before may mean the spirits whose power 
is over the hand shall loose their hands

 from his1 etc4 ,but1 concludes ,talbot1
 ,i can offer no decided opinion upon   
such obscure points of their            
superstition47#ae7  ,in regard to evil  
spirits1 as elsewhere1 the number seven 
had a peculiar significance1 it being   
held that that number of spirits might  
enter into a man together4 ,talbot has  
translated7#af7 a wild chant which he   
names ,the ,song of the ,seven ,spirits4
    #a4 ,there are seven6 ,there are    
seven6   #b4 ,in the depths of the ocean
 there are seven6   #c4 ,in the heights 
of the heaven there are seven6   #d4 ,in
 the ocean stream in a palace they were 
born4   #e4 ,male they are not3 female  
they are not6   #f4 ,wives they have    
not6 ,children are not born to them6    
#g4 ,rules they have not6 ,government   
they know not6   #h4 ,prayers they hear 
not6   #i4 ,there are seven6 ,there are 
seven6 ,twice over there are seven6     
,the tablets make frequent allusion to  
these seven spirits4 ,one starts thus3  
#a4 ,the god 7---7 shall stand by his   

bedside2   #b4 ,these seven evil spirits
 he shall root out and shall expel them 
from his body1  #c4 and these seven     
shall never return to the sick man      
again47#ag7   ,altogether similar are   
the exorcisms intended to ward off      
disease4 ,professor ,sayce has published
 translations of some of these47#ah7    
,each of these ends with the same       
phrase1 and they differ only in regard  
to the particular maladies from which   
freedom is desired4 ,one reads3  ,from  
wasting1 from want of health1 from the  
evil spirit of the ulcer1 from the      
spreading quinsy of the gullet1 from the
 violent ulcer1 from the noxious ulcer1 
may the king of heaven preserve1 may the
 king of earth preserve4  ,another is   
phrased thus3  ,from the cruel spirit of
 the head1 from the strong spirit of the
 head1 from the head spirit that departs
 not1 from the head spirit that comes   
not forth1 from the head spirit that    
will not go1 from the noxious head      
spirit1 may the king of heaven preserve1

 may the king of earth preserve4  ,as to
 omens having to do with the affairs of 
everyday life the number is legion4 ,for
 example1 ,moppert has published1 in the
 ,journal ,asiatique17#ai7 the          
translation of a tablet which contains  
on its two sides several scores of      
birth-portents1 a few of which maybe    
quoted at random3  ,when a woman bears a
 child and it has the ears of a lion1 a 
strong king is in the country4 ,when a  
woman bears a child and it has a bird's 
beak1 that country is oppressed4 ,when a
 woman bears a child and its right hand 
is wanting1 that country goes to        
destruction4 ,when a woman bears a child
 and its feet are wanting1 the roads of 
the country are cut2 that house is      
destroyed4 ,when a woman bears a child  
and at the time of its birth its beard  
is grown1 floods are in the country4    
,when a woman bears a child and at the  
time of its birth its mouth is open and 
speaks1 there is pestilence in the      
country1 the ,air-god inundates the     

crops of the country1 injury in the     
country is caused4  ,some of these      
portents1 it will be observed1 are not  
in much danger of realization1 and it is
 curious to surmise by what stretch of  
the imagination they can have been      
invented4 ,there is1 for example1 on the
 same tablet just quoted1 one reference 
which assures us that when a sheep bears
 a lion the forces march                
multitudinously2 the king has not a     
rival4 ,there are other omens1 however1 
that are so easy of realization as to   
lead one to suppose that any ,babylonian
 who regarded all the superstitious     
signs must have been in constant terror4
 ,thus a tablet translated by ,professor
 ,sayce7#bj7 gives a long list of omens 
furnished by dogs1 in which we are      
assured that3    #a4 ,if a yellow dog   
enters into the palace1 exit from that  
palace will be baleful4   #b4 ,if a dog 
to the palace goes1 and on a throne lies
 down1 that      palace is burned4   #c4
 ,if a black dog into a temple enters1  

the foundation of that      temple is   
not stable4   #d4 ,if female dogs one   
litter bear1 destruction to the city4   
,it is needless to continue these       
citations1 since they but reiterate     
endlessly the same story4 ,it is        
interesting to recall1 however1 that the
 observations of animate nature1 which  
were doubtless superstitious in their   
motive1 had given the ,babylonians some 
inklings of a knowledge of              
classification4 ,thus1 according to     
,menant17#ba7 some of the tablets from  
,nineveh1 which are written1 as usual1  
in both the ,sumerian and ,assyrian     
languages1 and which1 therefore1 like   
practically all ,assyrian books1 draw   
upon the knowledge of old ,babylonia1   
give lists of animals1 making an attempt
 at classification4 ,the dog1 lion1 and 
wolf are placed in one category2 the ox1
 sheep1 and goat in another2 the dog    
family itself is divided into various   
races1 as the domestic dog1 the coursing
 dog1 the small dog1 the dog of ,elan1  

etc4 ,similar attempts at classification
 of birds are found4 ,thus1 birds of    
rapid flight1 sea-birds1 and marsh-birds
 are differentiated4 ,insects are       
classified according to habit2 those    
that attack plants1 animals1 clothing1  
or wood4 ,vegetables seem to be         
classified according to their           
usefulness4 ,one tablet enumerates the  
uses of wood according to its           
adaptability for timber-work of palaces1
 or construction of vessels1 the making 
of implements of husbandry1 or even     
furniture4 ,minerals occupy a long      
series in these tablets4 ,they are      
classed according to their qualities1   
gold and silver occupying a division    
apart2 precious stones forming another  
series4 ,our ,babylonians1 then1 must be
 credited with the development of a     
rudimentary science of natural history4 
,,babylonian ,,medicine  ,we have just  
seen that medical practice in the       
,babylonian world was strangely under   
the cloud of superstition4 ,but it      

should be understood that our estimate1 
through lack of correct data1 probably  
does much less than justice to the      
attainments of the physician of the     
time4 ,as already noted1 the existing   
tablets chance not to throw much light  
on the subject4 ,it is known1 however1  
that the practitioner of medicine       
occupied a position of some1 authority  
and responsibility4 ,the proof of this  
is found in the clauses relating to the 
legal status of the physician which are 
contained in the now famous code7#bb7 of
 the ,babylonian ,king ,khamurabi1 who  
reigned about #bcjj years before our    
era4 ,these clauses1 though throwing no 
light on the scientific attainments of  
the physician of the period1 are too    
curious to be omitted4 ,they are clauses
 #bae to #bbg of the celebrated code1   
and are as follows3  #bae4 ,if a doctor 
has treated a man for a severe wound    
with a lancet of bronze and has cured   
the man1 or has opened a tumor with a   
bronze lancet and has cured the man's   

eye1 he shall receive ten shekels of    
silver4  #baf4 ,if it was a freedman1 he
 shall receive five shekels of silver4  
#bag4 ,if it was a man's slave1 the     
owner of the slave shall give the doctor
 two shekels of silver4  #bah4 ,if a    
physician has treated a free-born man   
for a severe wound with a lancet of     
bronze and has caused the man to die1 or
 has opened a tumor of the man with a   
lancet of bronze and has destroyed his  
eye1 his hands one shall cut off4  #bai4
 ,if the doctor has treated the slave of
 a freedman for a severe wound with a   
bronze lancet and has caused him to die1
 he shall give back slave for slave4    
#bbj4 ,if he has opened his tumor with a
 bronze lancet and has ruined his eye1  
he shall pay the half of his price in   
money4  #bba4 ,if a doctor has cured the
 broken limb of a man1 or has healed his
 sick body1 the patient shall pay the   
doctor five shekels of silver4  #bbb4   
,if it was a freedman1 he shall give    
three shekels of silver4  #bbc4 ,if it  

was a man's slave1 the owner of the     
slave shall give two shekels of silver  
to the doctor4  #bbd4 ,if the doctor of 
oxen and asses has treated an ox or an  
ass for a grave wound and has cured it1 
the owner of the ox or the ass shall    
give to the doctor as his pay one-sixth 
of a shekel of silver4  #bbe4 ,if he has
 treated an ox or an ass for a severe   
wound and has caused its death1 he shall
 pay one-fourth of its price to the     
owner of the ox or the ass4  #bbf4 ,if a
 barber-surgeon1 without consent of the 
owner of a slave1 has branded the slave 
with an indelible mark1 one shall cut   
off the hands of that barber4  #bbg4 ,if
 any one deceive the surgeon-barber and 
make him brand a slave with an indelible
 mark1 one shall kill that man and bury 
him in his house4 ,the barber shall     
swear1 ,i did not mark him wittingly1   
and he shall be guiltless4   ,,estimates
 ,,of ,,babylonian ,,science  ,before   
turning from the ,oriental world it is  
perhaps worth while to attempt to       

estimate somewhat specifically the      
world-influence of the name1 ,babylonian
 science4 ,perhaps we cannot better gain
 an idea as to the estimate put upon    
that science by the classical world than
 through a somewhat extended quotation  
from a classical author4 ,diodorus      
,siculus1 who1 as already noted1 lived  
at about the time of ,augustus1 and who1
 therefore1 scanned in perspective the  
entire sweep of classical ,greek        
history1 has left us a striking summary 
which is doubly valuable because of its 
comparisons of ,babylonian with ,greek  
influence4 ,having viewed the science of
 ,babylonia in the light of the         
interpretations made possible by the    
recent study of original documents1 we  
are prepared to draw our own conclusions
 from the statements of the ,greek      
historian4 ,here is his estimate in the 
words of the quaint translation made by 
,philemon ,holland in the year          
#agjj37bc7   ,they being the most       
ancient ,babylonians1 hold the same     

station and dignity in the              
,common-wealth as the ,egyptian ,priests
 do in ,egypt3 ,for being deputed to    
,divine ,offices1 they spend all their  
,time in the study of ,philosophy1 and  
are especially famous for the ,art of   
,astrology4 ,they are mightily given to 
,divination1 and foretel future ,events1
 and imploy themselves either by        
,purifications1 ,sacrifices1 or other   
,inchantments to avert ,evils1 or       
procure good ,fortune and ,success4     
,they are skilful likewise in the ,art  
of ,divination1 by the flying of ,birds1
 and interpreting of ,dreams and        
,prodigies3 ,and are reputed as true    
,oracles 7in declaring what will come to
 pass7 by their exact and diligent      
viewing the ,intrals of the ,sacrifices4
 ,but they attain not to this ,knowledge
 in the same manner as the ,grecians do2
 for the ,chaldeans learn it by         
,tradition from their ,ancestors1 the   
,son from the ,father1 who are all in   
the mean time free from all other       

publick ,offices and ,attendances2 and  
because their ,parents are their        
,tutors1 they both learn every thing    
without ,envy1 and rely with more       
confidence upon the truth of what is    
taught them2 and being train'd up in    
this ,learning1 from their very         
,childhood1 they become most famous     
,philosophers1 7that ,age being most    
capable of ,learning1 wherein they spend
 much of their time74 ,but the ,grecians
 for the most part come raw to this     
study1 unfitted and unprepar'd1 and are 
long before they attain to the          
,knowledge of this ,philosophy3 ,and    
after they have spent some small time in
 this ,study1 they are many times call'd
 off and forc'd to leave it1 in order to
 get a ,livelihood and ,subsistence4    
,and although some1 few do industriously
 apply themselves to ,philosophy1 yet   
for the sake of ,gain1 these very ,men  
are opinionative1 and ever and anon     
starting new and high ,points1 and never
 fix in the steps of their ,ancestors4  

,but the ,barbarians keeping constantly 
close to the same thing1 attain to a    
perfect and distinct ,knowledge in every
 particular4  ,but the ,grecians1       
cunningly catching at all ,opportunities
 of ,gain1 make new ,sects and ,parties1
 and by their contrary ,opinions        
wrangling and quarelling concerning the 
chiefest ,points1 lead their ,scholars  
into a ,maze2 and being uncertain and   
doubtful what to pitch upon for certain 
truth1 their ,minds are fluctuating and 
in suspence all the days of their       
,lives1 and unable to give a certain    
assent unto any thing4 ,for if any ,man 
will but examine the most eminent ,sects
 of the ,philosophers1 he shall find    
them much differing among themselves1   
and even opposing one another in the    
most weighty parts of their ,philosophy4
 ,but to return to the ,chaldeans1 they 
hold that the ,world is eternal1 which  
had neither any certain ,beginning1 nor 
shall have any ,end2 but all agree1 that
 all things are order'd1 and this       

beautiful ,fabrick is supported by a    
,divine ,providence1 and that the       
,motions of the ,heavens are not        
perform'd by chance and of their own    
accord1 but by a certain and determinate
 ,will and ,appointment of the ,gods4   
,therefore from a long observation of   
the ,stars1 and an exact ,knowledge of  
the motions and influences of every one 
of them1 wherein they excel all others1 
they fortel many things that are to come
 to pass4  ,they say that the ,five     
,stars which some call ,planets1 but    
they ,interpreters1 are most worthy of  
,consideration1 both for their motions  
and their remarkable influences1        
especially that which the ,grecians call
 ,saturn4 ,the brightest of them all1   
and which often portends many and great 
,events1 they call ,sol1 the other ,four
 they name ,mars1 ,venus1 ,mercury1 and 
,jupiter1 with our own ,country         
,astrologers4 ,they give the ,name of   
,interpreters to these ,stars1 because  
these only by a peculiar ,motion do     

portend things to come1 and instead of  
,jupiters1 do declare to ,men           
before-hand the good-will of the ,gods2 
whereas the other ,stars 7not being of  
the number of the ,planets7 have a      
constant ordinary motion4 ,future       
,events 7they say7 are pointed at       
sometimes by their ,rising1 and         
sometimes by their ,setting1 and at     
other times by their ,colour1 as may be 
experienc'd by those that will          
diligently observe it2 sometimes        
foreshewing ,hurricanes1 at other times 
,tempestuous ,rains1 and then again     
exceeding ,droughts4 ,by these1 they    
say1 are often portended the appearance 
of ,comets1 ,eclipses of the ,sun and   
,moon1 ,earthquakes and all other the   
various ,changes and remarkable effects 
in the ,air1 boding good and bad1 not   
only to ,nations in general1 but to     
,kings and ,private ,persons in         
particular4 ,under the course of these  
,planets1 they say are ,thirty ,stars1  
which they call ,counselling ,gods1 half

 of whom observe what is done under the 
,earth1 and the other half take notice  
of the actions of ,men upon the ,earth1 
and what is transacted in the ,heavens4 
,once every ,ten ,days space 7they say7 
one of the highest ,order of these      
,stars descends to them that are of the 
lowest1 like a ,messenger sent from them
 above2 and then again another ascends  
from those below to them above1 and that
 this is their constant natural motion  
to continue for ever4 ,the chief of     
these ,gods1 they say1 are ,twelve in   
number1 to each of which they attribute 
a ,month1 and one ,sign of the ,twelve  
in the ,zodiack4  ,through these ,twelve
 ,signs the ,sun1 ,moon1 and the other  
,five ,planets run their ,course4 ,the  
,sun in a ,years time1 and the ,moon in 
the space of a ,month4 ,to every one of 
the ,planets they assign their own      
proper ,courses1 which are perform'd    
variously in lesser or shorter time     
according as their several motions are  
quicker or slower4 ,these ,stars1 they  

say1 have a great influence both as to  
good and bad in ,mens ,nativities2 and  
from the consideration of their several 
,natures1 may be foreknown what will    
befal ,men afterwards4 ,as they foretold
 things to come to other ,kings         
formerly1 so they did to ,alexander who 
conquer'd ,darius1 and to his           
,successors ,antigonus and ,seleucus    
,nicator2 and accordingly things fell   
out as they declar'd2 which we shall    
relate particularly hereafter in a more 
convenient time4 ,they tell likewise    
private ,men their ,fortunes so         
certainly1 that those who have found the
 thing true by ,experience1 have        
esteem'd it a ,miracle1 and above the   
reach of man to perform4 ,out of the    
,circle of the ,zodiack they describe   
,four and ,twenty ,stars1 ,twelve       
towards the ,north ,pole1 and as many to
 the ,south4  ,those which we see1 they 
assign to the living2 and the other that
 do not appear1 they conceive are       
,constellations for the ,dead2 and they 

term them ,judges of all things4 ,the   
,moon1 they say1 is in the lowest ,orb2 
and being therefore next to the ,earth  
7because she is so small71 she finishes 
her ,course in a little time1 not       
through the swiftness of her ,motion1   
but the shortness of her ,sphear4 ,in   
that which they affirm 7that she has but
 a borrow'd light1 and that when she is 
eclips'd1 it's caus'd by the            
interposition of the shadow of the      
,earth7 they agree with the ,grecians4  
,their ,rules and ,notions concerning   
the ,eclipses of the ,sun are but weak  
and mean1 which they dare not positively
 foretel1 nor fix a certain time for    
them4 ,they have likewise ,opinions     
concerning the ,earth peculiar to       
themselves1 affirming it to resemble a  
,boat1 and to be hollow1 to prove which1
 and other things relating to the frame 
of the ,world1 they abound in           
,arguments2 but to give a particular    
,account of 'em1 we conceive would be a 
thing foreign to our ,history4 ,but this

 any ,man may justly and truly say1     
,that the ,chaldeans far exceed all     
other ,men in the ,knowledge of         
,astrology1 and have study'd it most of 
any other ,art or ,science3 ,but the    
number of years during which the        
,chaldeans say1 those of their          
,profession have given themselves to the
 study of this natural ,philosophy1 is  
incredible2 for when ,alexander was in  
,asia1 they reckon'd up ,four ,hundred  
and ,seventy ,thousand ,years since they
 first began to observe the ,motions of 
the ,stars4   ,let us now supplement    
this estimate of ,babylonian influence  
with another estimate written in our own
 day1 and quoted by one of the most     
recent historians of ,babylonia and     
,assyria47#bd7 ,the estimate in question
 is that of ,canon ,rawlinson in his    
,great ,oriental ,monarchies47#be7 ,of  
,babylonia he says3  ,hers was          
apparently the genius which excogitated 
an alphabet2 worked out the simpler     
problems of arithmetic2 invented        

implements for measuring the lapse of   
time2 conceived the idea of raising     
enormous structures with the poorest of 
all materials1 clay2 discovered the art 
of polishing1 boring1 and engraving     
gems2 reproduced with truthfulness the  
outlines of human and animal forms2     
attained to high perfection in textile  
fabrics2 studied with success the       
motions of the heavenly bodies2         
conceived of grammar as a science2      
elaborated a system of law2 saw the     
value of an exact chronology--in almost 
every branch of science made a          
beginning1 thus rendering it            
comparatively easy for other nations to 
proceed with the superstructure4444 ,it 
was from the ,east1 not from ,egypt1    
that ,greece derived her architecture1  
her sculpture1 her science1 her         
philosophy1 her mathematical            
knowledge--in a word1 her intellectual  
life4 ,and ,babylon was the source to   
which the entire stream of ,eastern     
civilization may be traced4 ,it is      

scarcely too much to say that1 but for  
,babylon1 real civilization might not   
yet have dawned upon the earth4         
,considering that a period of almost two
 thousand years separates the times of  
writing of these two estimates1 the     
estimates themselves are singularly in  
unison4 ,they show that the greatest of 
,oriental nations has not suffered in   
reputation at the hands of posterity4   
,it is indeed almost impossible to      
contemplate the monuments of ,babylonian
 and ,assyrian civilization that are now
 preserved in the ,european and         
,american museums without becoming      
enthusiastic4 ,that certainly was a     
wonderful civilization which has left us
 the tablets on which are inscribed the 
laws of a ,khamurabi on the one hand1   
and the art treasures of the palace of  
an ,asshurbanipal on the other4 ,yet a  
candid consideration of the scientific  
attainments of the ,babylonians and     
,assyrians can scarcely arouse us to a  
like enthusiasm4 ,in considering the    

subject we have seen that1 so far as    
pure science is concerned1 the efforts  
of the ,babylonians and ,assyrians      
chiefly centred about the subjects of   
astrology and magic4 ,with the records  
of their ghost-haunted science fresh in 
mind1 one might be forgiven for a       
momentary desire to take issue with     
,canon ,rawlinson's words4 ,we are      
assured that the scientific attainments 
of ,europe are almost solely to be      
credited to ,babylonia and not to       
,egypt1 but we should not forget that   
,plato1 the greatest of the ,greek      
thinkers1 went to ,egypt and not to     
,babylonia to pursue his studies when he
 wished to penetrate the secrets of     
,oriental science and philosophy4       
,clearly1 then1 classical ,greece did   
not consider ,babylonia as having a     
monopoly of scientific knowledge1 and we
 of to-day1 when we attempt to weigh the
 new evidence that has come to us in    
recent generations with the ,babylonian 
records themselves1 find that some1 at  

least1 of the heritages for which       
,babylonia has been praised are of more 
than doubtful value4 ,babylonia1 for    
example1 gave us our seven-day week and 
our system of computing by twelves4 ,but
 surely the world could have got on as  
well without that magic number seven2   
and after some hundreds of generations  
we are coming to feel that the decimal  
system of the ,egyptians has advantages 
over the duodecimal system of the       
,babylonians4 ,again1 the ,babylonians  
did not invent the alphabet2 they did   
not even accept it when all the rest of 
the world had recognized its value4 ,in 
grammar and arithmetic1 as with         
astronomy1 they seemed not to have      
advanced greatly1 if at all1 upon the   
,egyptians4 ,one field in which they    
stand out in startling pre-eminence is  
the field of astrology2 but this1 in the
 estimate of modern thought1 is the very
 negation of science4 ,babylonia        
impressed her superstitions on the      
,western world1 and when we consider the

 baleful influence of these             
superstitions1 we may almost question   
whether we might not reverse ,canon     
,rawlinson's estimate and say that      
perhaps but for ,babylonia real         
civilization1 based on the application  
of true science1 might have dawned upon 
the earth a score of centuries before it
 did4 ,yet1 after all1 perhaps this     
estimate is unjust4 ,society1 like an   
individual organism1 must creep before  
it can walk1 and perhaps the ,babylonian
 experiments in astrology and magic1    
which ,european civilization was        
destined to copy for some three or four 
thousand years1 must have been made a   
part of the necessary evolution of our  
race in one place or in another4 ,that  
thought1 however1 need not blind us to  
the essential fact1 which the historian 
of science must needs admit1 that for   
the ,babylonian1 despite his boasted    
culture1 science spelled superstition4  
,,iv4 ,,the ,,development ,,of ,,the    
,,alphabet  ,before we turn specifically

 to the new world of the west1 it       
remains to take note of what may perhaps
 be regarded as the very greatest       
achievement of ancient science4 ,this   
was the analysis of speech sounds1 and  
the resulting development of a system of
 alphabetical writing4 ,to comprehend   
the series of scientific inductions     
which led to this result1 we must go    
back in imagination and trace briefly   
the development of the methods of       
recording thought by means of graphic   
symbols4 ,in other words1 we must trace 
the evolution of the art of writing4 ,in
 doing so we cannot hold to national    
lines as we have done in the preceding  
two chapters1 though the efforts of the 
two great scientific nations just       
considered will enter prominently into  
the story4  ,the familiar ,greek legend 
assures us that a ,phoenician named     
,kadmus was the first to bring a        
knowledge of letters into ,europe4 ,an  
elaboration of the story1 current       
throughout classical times1 offered the 

further explanation that the            
,phoenicians had in turn acquired the   
art of writing from the ,egyptians or   
,babylonians4 ,knowledge as to the true 
origin and development of the art of    
writing did not extend in antiquity     
beyond such vagaries as these4          
,nineteenth-century studies gave the    
first real clews to an understanding of 
the subject4 ,these studies tended to   
authenticate the essential fact on which
 the legend of ,kadmus was founded2 to  
the extent1 at least1 of making it      
probable that the later ,grecian        
alphabet was introduced from            
,phoenicia--though not1 of course1 by   
any individual named ,kadmus1 the latter
 being1 indeed1 a name of purely ,greek 
origin4 ,further studies of the past    
generation tended to corroborate the    
ancient belief as to the original source
 of the ,phoenician alphabet1 but       
divided scholars between two opinions3  
the one contending that the ,egyptian   
hieroglyphics were the source upon which

 the ,phoenicians drew2 and the other   
contending with equal fervor that the   
,babylonian wedge character must be     
conceded that honor4  ,but1 as has often
 happened in other fields after years of
 acrimonious controversy1 a new         
discovery or two may suffice to show    
that neither contestant was right4      
,after the ,egyptologists of the school 
of ,de ,rouge7#a7 thought they had      
demonstrated that the familiar symbols  
of the ,phoenician alphabet had been    
copied from that modified form of       
,egyptian hieroglyphics known as the    
hieratic writing1 the ,assyriologists   
came forward to prove that certain      
characters of the ,babylonian syllabary 
also show a likeness to the alphabetical
 characters that seemingly could not be 
due to chance4 ,and then1 when a        
settlement of the dispute seemed almost 
hopeless1 it was shown through the      
,egyptian excavations that characters   
even more closely resembling those in   
dispute had been in use all about the   

shores of the ,mediterranean1 quite     
independently of either ,egyptian or    
,assyrian writings1 from periods so     
ancient as to be virtually prehistoric4 
,coupled with this disconcerting        
discovery are the revelations brought to
 light by the excavations at the sites  
of ,knossos and other long-buried cities
 of the island of ,crete47#b7 ,these    
excavations1 which are still in         
progress1 show that the art of writing  
was known and practised independently in
 ,crete before that cataclysmic         
overthrow of the early ,greek           
civilization which archaeologists are   
accustomed to ascribe to the            
hypothetical invasion of the ,dorians4  
,the significance of this is that the   
art of writing was known in ,europe long
 before the advent of the mythical      
,kadmus4 ,but since the early ,cretan   
scripts are not to be identified with   
the scripts used in ,greece in          
historical times1 whereas the latter are
 undoubtedly of lineal descent from the 

,phoenician alphabet1 the validity of   
the ,kadmus legend1 in a modified form1 
must still be admitted4  ,as has just   
been suggested1 the new knowledge1      
particularly that which related to the  
great antiquity of characters similar to
 the ,phoenician alphabetical signs1 is 
somewhat disconcerting4 ,its general    
trend1 however1 is quite in the same    
direction with most of the new          
archaeological knowledge of recent      
decades---that is to say1 it tends to   
emphasize the idea that human           
civilization in most of its important   
elaborations is vastly older than has   
hitherto been supposed4 ,it may be      
added1 however1 that no definite clews  
are as yet available that enable us to  
fix even an approximate date for the    
origin of the ,phoenician alphabet4 ,the
 signs1 to which reference has been     
made1 may well have been in existence   
for thousands of years1 utilized merely 
as property marks1 symbols for counting 
and the like1 before the idea of setting

 them aside as phonetic symbols was ever
 conceived4 ,nothing is more certain1 in
 the judgment of the present-day        
investigator1 than that man learned to  
write by slow and painful stages4 ,it is
 probable that the conception of such an
 analysis of speech sounds as would make
 the idea of an alphabet possible came  
at a very late stage of social          
evolution1 and as the culminating       
achievement of a long series of         
improvements in the art of writing4 ,the
 precise steps that marked this path of 
intellectual development can for the    
most part be known only by inference2   
yet it is probable that the main        
chapters of the story may be reproduced 
with essential accuracy4   ,,first      
,,steps  ,for the very first chapters of
 the story we must go back in           
imagination to the prehistoric period4  
,even barbaric man feels the need of    
self-expression1 and strives to make his
 ideas manifest to other men by         
pictorial signs4 ,the cave-dwellers     

scratched pictures of men and animals on
 the surface of a reindeer horn or      
mammoth tusk as mementos of his prowess4
 ,the ,american ,indian does essentially
 the same thing to-day1 making pictures 
that crudely record his successes in war
 and the chase4 ,the ,northern ,indian  
had got no farther than this when the   
white man discovered ,america2 but the  
,aztecs of the ,southwest and the ,maya 
people of ,yucatan had carried their    
picture-making to a much higher state of
 elaboration47#c7 ,they had developed   
systems of pictographs or hieroglyphics 
that would doubtless in the course of   
generations have been elaborated into   
alphabetical systems1 had not the       
,europeans cut off the civilization of  
which they were the highest exponents4  
,what the ,aztec and ,maya were striving
 towards in the sixteenth century       
,a4,d41 various ,oriental nations had   
attained at least five or six thousand  
years earlier4 ,in ,egypt at the time of
 the pyramid-builders1 and in ,babylonia

 at the same epoch1 the people had      
developed systems of writing that       
enabled them not merely to present a    
limited range of ideas pictorially1 but 
to express in full elaboration and with 
finer shades of meaning all the ideas   
that pertain to highly cultured         
existence4 ,the man of that time made   
records of military achievements1       
recorded the transactions of every-day  
business life1 and gave expression to   
his moral and spiritual aspirations in a
 way strangely comparable to the manner 
of our own time4 ,he had perfected      
highly elaborate systems of writing4    
,,egyptian ,,writing  ,of the two       
ancient systems of writing just referred
 to as being in vogue at the so-called  
dawnings of history1 the more           
picturesque and suggestive was the      
hieroglyphic system of the ,egyptians4  
,this is a curiously conglomerate system
 of writing1 made up in part of symbols 
reminiscent of the crudest stages of    
picture-writing1 in part of symbols     

having the phonetic value of syllables1 
and in part of true alphabetical        
letters4 ,in a word1 the ,egyptian      
writing represents in itself the        
elements of the various stages through  
which the art of writing has            
developed47#d7 ,we must conceive that   
new features were from time to time     
added to it1 while the old features1    
curiously enough1 were not given up4    
,here1 for example1 in the midst of     
unintelligible lines and pot-hooks1 are 
various pictures that are instantly     
recognizable as representations of      
hawks1 lions1 ibises1 and the like4 ,it 
can hardly be questioned that when these
 pictures were first used               
calligraphically they were meant to     
represent the idea of a bird or animal4 
,in other words1 the first stage of     
picture-writing did not go beyond the   
mere representation of an eagle by the  
picture of an eagle4 ,but this1         
obviously1 would confine the            
presentation of ideas within very narrow

 limits4 ,in due course some inventive  
genius conceived the thought of         
symbolizing a picture4 ,to him the      
outline of an eagle might represent not 
merely an actual bird1 but the thought  
of strength1 of courage1 or of swift    
progress4 ,such a use of symbols        
obviously extends the range of utility  
of a nascent art of writing4 ,then in   
due course some wonderful               
psychologist--or perhaps the joint      
efforts of many generations of          
psychologists--made the astounding      
discovery that the human voice1 which   
seems to flow on in an unbroken stream  
of endlessly varied modulations and     
intonations1 may really be analyzed into
 a comparatively limited number of      
component sounds--into a few hundreds of
 syllables4 ,that wonderful idea        
conceived1 it was only a matter of time 
until it would occur to some other      
enterprising genius that by selecting an
 arbitrary symbol to represent each one 
of these elementary sounds it would be  

possible to make a written record of the
 words of human speech which could be   
reproduced--rephonated--by some one who 
had never heard the words and did not   
know in advance what this written record
 contained4 ,this1 of course1 is what   
every child learns to do now in the     
primer class1 but we may feel assured   
that such an idea never occurred to any 
human being until the peculiar forms of 
pictographic writing just referred to   
had been practised for many centuries4  
,yet1 as we have said1 some genius of   
prehistoric ,egypt conceived the idea   
and put it into practical execution1 and
 the hieroglyphic writing of which the  
,egyptians were in full possession at   
the very beginning of what we term the  
historical period made use of this      
phonetic system along with the          
ideographic system already described4   
,so fond were the ,egyptians of their   
pictorial symbols used ideographically  
that they clung to them persistently    
throughout the entire period of         

,egyptian history4 ,they used symbols as
 phonetic equivalents very frequently1  
but they never learned to depend upon   
them exclusively4 ,the scribe always    
interspersed his phonetic signs with    
some other signs intended as graphic    
aids4 ,after spelling a word out in     
full1 he added a picture1 sometimes even
 two or three pictures1 representative  
of the individual thing1 or at least of 
the type of thing to which the word     
belongs4 ,two or three illustrations    
will make this clear4  ,thus qeften1    
monkey1 is spelled out in full1 but the 
picture of a monkey is added as a       
determinative2 second1 qenu1 cavalry1   
after being spelled1 is made unequivocal
 by the introduction of a picture of a  
horse2 third1 temati1 wings1 though     
spelled elaborately1 has pictures of    
wings added2 and fourth1 tatu1          
quadrupeds1 after being spelled1 has a  
picture of a quadruped1 and then the    
picture of a hide1 which is the usual   
determinative of a quadruped1 followed  

by three dashes to indicate the plural  
number4  ,it must not be supposed1      
however1 that it was a mere whim which  
led the ,egyptians to the use of this   
system of determinatives4 ,there was    
sound reason back of it4 ,it amounted to
 no more than the expedient we adopt    
when we spell to1 two1 or too1 in       
indication of a single sound with three 
different meanings4 ,the ,egyptian      
language abounds in words having more   
than one meaning1 and in writing these  
it is obvious that some means of        
distinction is desirable4 ,the same     
thing occurs even more frequently in the
 ,chinese language1 which is            
monosyllabic4 ,the ,chinese adopt a more
 clumsy expedient1 supplying a different
 symbol for each of the meanings of a   
syllable2 so that while the actual      
word-sounds of their speech are only a  
few hundreds in number1 the characters  
of their written language mount high    
into the thousands4   ,,babylonian      
,,writing  ,while the civilization of   

the ,nile ,valley was developing this   
extraordinary system of hieroglyphics1  
the inhabitants of ,babylonia were      
practising the art of writing along     
somewhat different lines4 ,it is certain
 that they began with picture-making1   
and that in due course they advanced to 
the development of the syllabary2 but1  
unlike their ,egyptian cousins1 the men 
of ,babylonia saw fit to discard the old
 system when they had perfected a better
 one47#e7 ,so at a very early day their 
writing--as revealed to us now through  
the recent excavations--had ceased to   
have that pictorial aspect which        
distinguishes the ,egyptian script4     
,what had originally been pictures of   
objects--fish1 houses1 and the like--had
 come to be represented by mere         
aggregations of wedge-shaped marks4 ,as 
the writing of the ,babvlonians was     
chiefly inscribed on soft clay1 the     
adaptation of this wedge-shaped mark in 
lieu of an ordinary line was probably a 
mere matter of convenience1 since the   

sharp-cornered implement used in making 
the inscription naturally made a        
wedge-shaped impression in the clay4    
,that1 however1 is a detail4 ,the       
essential thing is that the ,babylonian 
had so fully analyzed the speech-sounds 
that he felt entire confidence in them1 
and having selected a sufficient number 
of conventional characters--each made up
 of wedge-shaped lines--to represent all
 the phonetic sounds of his language1   
spelled the words out in syllables and  
to some extent dispensed with the       
determinative signs which1 as we have   
seen1 played so prominent a part in the 
,egyptian writing4 ,his cousins the     
,assyrians used habitually a system of  
writing the foundation of which was an  
elaborate phonetic syllabary2 a system1 
therefore1 far removed from the old     
crude pictograph1 and in some respects  
much more developed than the complicated
 ,egyptian method2 yet1 after all1 a    
system that stopped short of perfection 
by the wide gap that separates the      

syllabary from the true alphabet4  ,a   
brief analysis of speech sounds will aid
 us in understanding the real nature of 
the syllabary4 ,let us take for         
consideration the consonantal sound     
represented by the letter b4 ,a moment's
 consideration will make it clear that  
this sound enters into a large number of
 syllables4 ,there are1 for example1 at 
least twenty vowel sounds in the        
,english language1 not to speak of      
certain digraphs2 that is to say1 each  
of the important vowels has from two to 
six sounds4 ,each of these vowel sounds 
may enter into combination with the b   
sound alone to form three syllables2 as 
ba1 ab1 bal1 be1 eb1 bel1 etc4 ,thus    
there are at least sixty b-sound        
syllables4 ,but this is not the end1 for
 other consonantal sounds may be        
associated in the syllables in such     
combinations as bad1 bed1 bar1 bark1    
cab1 etc4 ,as each of the other twenty  
odd consonantal sounds may enter into   
similar combinations1 it is obvious that

 there are several hundreds of          
fundamental syllables to be taken into  
account in any syllabic system of       
writing4 ,for each of these syllables a 
symbol must be set aside and held in    
reserve as the representative of that   
particular sound4 ,a perfect syllabary1 
then1 would require some hundred or more
 of symbols to represent b sounds alone2
 and since the sounds for c1 d1 f1 and  
the rest are equally varied1 the entire 
syllabary would run into thousands of   
characters1 almost rivalling in         
complexity the ,chinese system4 ,but in 
practice the most perfect syllabary1    
,such as that of the ,babylonians1 fell 
short of this degree of precision       
through ignoring the minor shades of    
sound2 just as our own alphabet is      
content to represent some thirty vowel  
sounds by five letters1 ignoring the    
fact that a1 for example1 has really    
half a dozen distinct phonetic values4  
,by such slurring of sounds the         
syllabary is reduced far below its ideal

 limits2 yet even so it retains three or
 four hundred characters4  ,in point of 
fact1 such a work as ,professor         
,delitzsch's ,assyrian ,grammar7#f7     
presents signs for three hundred and    
thirty-four syllables1 together with    
sundry alternative signs and            
determinatives to tax the memory of the 
would-be reader of ,assyrian4 ,let us   
take for example a few of the b sounds4 
,it has been explained that the basis of
 the ,assyrian written character is a   
simple wedge-shaped or arrow-head mark4 
,variously repeated and grouped1 these  
marks make up the syllabic characters4  
,to learn some four hundred such signs  
as these was the task set1 as an        
equivalent of learning the a b c's1 to  
any primer class in old ,assyria in the 
long generations when that land was the 
culture ,centre of the world4 ,nor was  
the task confined to the natives of     
,babylonia and ,assyria alone4 ,about   
the fifteenth century ,b4,c41 and       
probably for a long time before and     

after that period1 the exceedingly      
complex syllabary of the ,babylonians   
was the official means of communication 
throughout western ,asia and between    
,asia and ,egypt1 as we know from the   
chance discovery of a collection of     
letters belonging to the ,egyptian king 
,khun-aten1 preserved at                
,tel-el-,amarna4 ,in the time of ,ramses
 the ,great the ,babylonian writing was 
in all probability considered by a      
majority of the most highly civilized   
people in the world to be the most      
perfect script practicable4 ,doubtless  
the average scribe of the time did not  
in the least realize the waste of energy
 involved in his labors1 or ever suspect
 that there could be any better way of  
writing4  ,yet the analysis of any one  
of these hundreds of syllables into its 
component phonetic elements--had any one
 been genius enough to make such        
analysis--would have given the key to   
simpler and better things4 ,but such an 
analysis was very hard to make1 as the  

sequel shows4 ,nor is the utility of    
such an analysis self-evident1 as the   
experience of the ,egyptians proved4    
,the vowel sound is so intimately linked
 with the consonant--the con-sonant1    
implying this intimate relation in its  
very name--that it seemed extremely     
difficult to give it individual         
recognition4 ,to set off the mere labial
 beginning of the sound by itself1 and  
to recognize it as an all-essential     
element of phonation1 was the feat at   
which human intelligence so long balked4
 ,the germ of great things lay in that  
analysis4 ,it was a process of          
simplification1 and all art development 
is from the complex to the simple4      
,unfortunately1 however1 it did not seem
 a simplification1 but rather quite the 
reverse4 ,we may well suppose that the  
idea of wresting from the syllabary its 
secret of consonants and vowels1 and    
giving to each consonantal sound a      
distinct sign1 seemed a most cumbersome 
and embarrassing complication to the    

ancient scholars--that is to say1 after 
the time arrived when any one gave such 
an idea expression4 ,we can imagine them
 saying3 ,you will oblige us to use four
 signs instead of one to write such an  
elementary syllable as 'bard1' for      
example4 ,out upon such endless         
perplexity6 ,nor is such a suggestion   
purely gratuitous1 for it is an         
historical fact that the old syllabary  
continued to be used in ,babylon        
hundreds of years after the alphabetical
 system had been introduced47#g7 ,custom
 is everything in establishing our      
prejudices4 ,the ,japanese to-day rebel 
against the introduction of an alphabet1
 thinking it ambiguous4  ,yet1 in the   
end1 conservatism always yields1 and so 
it was with opposition to the alphabet4 
,once the idea of the consonant had been
 firmly grasped1 the old syllabary was  
doomed1 though generations of time might
 be required to complete the            
obsequies--generations of time and the  
influence of a new nation4 ,we have now 

to inquire how and by whom this advance 
was made4   ,,the ,,alphabet ,,achieved 
,we cannot believe that any nation could
 have vaulted to the final stage of the 
simple alphabetical writing without     
tracing the devious and difficult way of
 the pictograph and the syllabary4 ,it  
is possible1 however1 for a cultivated  
nation to build upon the shoulders of   
its neighbors1 and1 profiting by the    
experience of others1 to make sudden    
leaps upward and onward4 ,and this is   
seemingly what happened in the final    
development of the art of writing4 ,for 
while the ,babylonians and ,assyrians   
rested content with their elaborate     
syllabary1 a nation on either side of   
them1 geographically speaking1 solved   
the problem1 which they perhaps did not 
even recognize as a problem2 wrested    
from their syllabary its secret of      
consonants and vowels1 and by adopting  
an arbitrary sign for each consonantal  
sound1 produced that most wonderful of  
human inventions1 the alphabet4  ,the   

two nations credited with this wonderful
 achievement are the ,phoenicians and   
the ,persians4 ,but it is not usually   
conceded that the two are entitled to   
anything like equal credit4 ,the        
,persians1 probably in the time of      
,cyrus the ,great1 used certain         
characters of the ,babylonian script for
 the construction of an alphabet2 but at
 this time the ,phoenician alphabet had 
undoubtedly been in use for some        
centuries1 and it is more than probable 
that the ,persian borrowed his idea of  
an alphabet from a ,phoenician source4  
,and that1 of course1 makes all the     
difference4 ,granted the idea of an     
alphabet1 it requires no great reach of 
constructive genius to supply a set of  
alphabetical characters2 though even    
here1 it may be added parenthetically1 a
 study of the development of alphabets  
will show that mankind has all along had
 a characteristic propensity to copy    
rather than to invent4  ,regarding the  
,persian alphabet-maker1 then1 as a     

copyist rather than a true inventor1 it 
remains to turn attention to the        
,phoenician source whence1 as is        
commonly believed1 the original alphabet
 which became the mother of all existing
 alphabets came into being4 ,it must be 
admitted at the outset that evidence for
 the ,phoenician origin of this alphabet
 is traditional rather than             
demonstrative4 ,the ,phoenicians were   
the great traders of antiquity2         
undoubtedly they were largely           
responsible for the transmission of the 
alphabet from one part of the world to  
another1 once it had been invented4 ,too
 much credit cannot be given them for   
this2 and as the world always honors him
 who makes an idea fertile rather than  
the originator of the idea1 there can be
 little injustice in continuing to speak
 of the ,phoenicians as the inventors of
 the alphabet4 ,but the actual facts of 
the case will probably never be known4  
,for aught we know1 it may have been    
some dreamy-eyed ,israelite1 some       

,babylonian philosopher1 some ,egyptian 
mystic1 perhaps even some obscure       
,cretan1 who gave to the hard-headed    
,phoenician trader this conception of a 
dismembered syllable with its           
all-essential1 elemental1 wonder-working
 consonant4 ,but it is futile now to    
attempt even to surmise on such         
unfathomable details as these4 ,suffice 
it that the analysis was made2 that one 
sign and no more was adopted for each   
consonantal sound of the ,semitic       
tongue1 and that the entire cumbersome  
mechanism of the ,egyptian and          
,babylonian writing systems was rendered
 obsolescent4 ,these systems did not    
yield at once1 to be sure2 all human    
experience would have been set at naught
 had they done so4 ,they held their own1
 and much more than held their own1 for 
many centuries4 ,after the ,phoenicians 
as a nation had ceased to have          
importance2 after their original script 
had been endlessly modified by many     
alien nations2 after the original       

alphabet had made the conquest of all   
civilized ,europe and of far outlying   
portions of the ,orient--the ,egyptian  
and ,babylonian scribes continued to    
indite their missives in the same old   
pictographs and syllables4  ,the        
inventive thinker must have been struck 
with amazement when1 after making the   
fullest analysis of speech-sounds of    
which he was capable1 he found himself  
supplied with only a score or so of     
symbols4 ,yet as regards the consonantal
 sounds he had exhausted the resources  
of the ,semitic tongue4 ,as to vowels1  
he scarcely considered them at all4 ,it 
seemed to him sufficient to use one     
symbol for each consonantal sound4 ,this
 reduced the hitherto complex mechanism 
of writing to so simple a system that   
the inventor must have regarded it with 
sheer delight4 ,on the other hand1 the  
conservative scholar doubtless thought  
it distinctly ambiguous4 ,in truth1 it  
must be admitted that the system was    
imperfect4 ,it was a vast improvement on

 the old syllabary1 but it had its      
drawbacks4 ,perhaps it had been made a  
bit too simple2 certainly it should have
 had symbols for the vowel sounds as    
well as for the consonants4             
,nevertheless1 the vowel-lacking        
alphabet seems to have taken the popular
 fancy1 and to this day ,semitic people 
have never supplied its deficiencies    
save with certain dots and points4      
,peoples using the ,aryan speech soon   
saw the defect1 and the ,greeks supplied
 symbols for several new sounds at a    
very early day47#h7 ,but there the      
matter rested1 and the alphabet has     
remained imperfect4 ,for the purposes of
 the ,english language there should     
certainly have been added a dozen or    
more new characters4 ,it is clear1 for  
example1 that1 in the interest of       
explicitness1 we should have a separate 
symbol for the vowel sound in each of   
the following syllables3 bar1 bay1 bann1
 ball1 to cite a single illustration4   
,there is1 to be sure1 a seemingly valid

 reason for not extending our alphabet1 
in the fact that in multiplying         
syllables it would be difficult to      
select characters at once easy to make  
and unambiguous4 ,moreover1 the         
conservatives might point out1 with     
telling effect1 that the present        
alphabet has proved admirably effective 
for about three thousand years4 ,yet the
 fact that our dictionaries supply      
diacritical marks for some thirty vowels
 sounds to indicate the pronunciation of
 the words of our every-day speech1     
shows how we let memory and guessing do 
the work that might reasonably be       
demanded of a really complete alphabet4 
,but1 whatever its defects1 the existing
 alphabet is a marvellous piece of      
mechanism1 the result of thousands of   
years of intellectual effort4 ,it is1   
perhaps without exception1 the most     
stupendous invention of the human       
intellect within historical times--an   
achievement taking rank with such great 
prehistoric discoveries as the use of   

articulate speech1 the making of a fire1
 and the invention of stone implements1 
of the wheel and axle1 and of           
picture-writing4 ,it made possible for  
the first time that education of the    
masses upon which all later progress of 
civilization was so largely to depend4  
,v4 ,,the ,,beginnings ,,of ,,greek     
,,science  ,herodotus1 the ,father of   
,history1 tells us that once upon a     
time--which time1 as the modern         
computator shows us1 was about the year 
#eij ,b4,c4--a war had risen between the
 ,lydians and the ,medes and continued  
five years4 ,in these years the ,medes  
often discomfited the ,lydians and the  
,lydians often discomfited the ,medes   
7and among other things they fought a   
battle by night72 and yet they still    
carried on the war with equally balanced
 fortitude4 ,in the sixth year a battle 
took place in which it happened1 when   
the fight had begun1 that suddenly the  
day became night4 ,and this change of   
the day ,thales1 the ,milesian1 had     

foretold to the ,ionians1 laying down as
 a limit this very year in which the    
change took place4 ,the ,lydians1       
however1 and the ,medes1 when they saw  
that it had become night instead of day1
 ceased from their fighting and were    
much more eager1 both of them1 that     
peace should be made between them4      
,this memorable incident occurred while 
,alyattus1 father of ,croesus1 was king 
of the ,lydians4 ,the modern astronomer1
 reckoning backward1 estimates this     
eclipse as occurring probably ,may      
#beth1 #ehe ,b4,c4 ,the date is         
important as fixing a mile-stone in the 
chronology of ancient history1 but it is
 doubly memorable because it is the     
first recorded instance of a predicted  
eclipse4 ,herodotus1 who tells the      
story1 was not born until about one     
hundred years after the incident        
occurred1 but time had not dimmed the   
fame of the man who had performed the   
necromantic feat of prophecy4 ,thales1  
the ,milesian1 thanks in part at least  

to this accomplishment1 had been known  
in life as first on the list of the     
,seven ,wise ,men of ,greece1 and had   
passed into history as the father of    
,greek philosophy4 ,we may add that he  
had even found wider popular fame       
through being named by ,hippolytus1 and 
then by ,father aesop1 as the           
philosopher who1 intent on studying the 
heavens1 fell into a well2 whereupon1   
says ,hippolytus1 a maid-servant named  
,thratta laughed at him and said1 ',in  
his search for things in the sky he does
 not see what is at his feet4'  ,such   
citations as these serve to bring       
vividly to mind the fact that we are    
entering a new epoch of thought4        
,hitherto our studies have been         
impersonal4 ,among ,egyptians and       
,babylonians alike we have had to deal  
with classes of scientific records1 but 
we have scarcely come across a single   
name4 ,now1 however1 we shall begin to  
find records of the work of individual  
investigators4 ,in general1 from now on1

 we shall be able to trace each great   
idea1 if not to its originator1 at least
 to some one man of genius who was      
prominent in bringing it before the     
world4 ,the first of these vitalizers of
 thought1 who stands out at the         
beginnings of ,greek history1 is this   
same ,thales1 of ,miletus4 ,his is not a
 very sharply defined personality as we 
look back upon it1 and we can by no     
means be certain that all the           
discoveries which are ascribed to him   
are specifically his4 ,of his           
individuality as a man we know very     
little4 ,it is not even quite certain as
 to where he was born2 ,miletus is      
usually accepted as his birthplace1 but 
one tradition makes him by birth a      
,phenician4 ,it is not at all in        
question1 however1 that by blood he was 
at least in part an ,ionian ,greek4 ,it 
will be recalled that in the seventh    
century ,b4,c41 when ,thales was        
born--and for a long time               
thereafter--the eastern shores of the   

aegean ,sea were quite as prominently   
the centre of ,greek influence as was   
the peninsula of ,greece itself4 ,not   
merely ,thales1 but his followers and   
disciples1 ,anaximander and ,anaximenes1
 were born there4 ,so also was          
,herodotas1 the ,father of ,history1 not
 to extend the list4 ,there is nothing  
anomalous1 then1 in the fact that       
,thales1 the father of ,greek thought1  
was born and passed his life on soil    
that was not geographically a part of   
,greece2 but the fact has an important  
significance of another kind4 ,thanks to
 his environment1 ,thales was           
necessarily brought more or less in     
contact with ,oriental ideas4 ,there was
 close commercial contact between the   
land of his nativity and the great      
,babylonian capital off to the east1 as 
also with ,egypt4 ,doubtless this       
association was of influence in shaping 
the development of ,thales's mind4      
,indeed1 it was an accepted tradition   
throughout classical times that the     

,milesian philosopher had travelled in  
,egypt1 and had there gained at least   
the rudiments of his knowledge of       
geometry4 ,in the fullest sense1 then1  
,thales may be regarded as representing 
a link in the chain of thought          
connecting the learning of the old      
,orient with the nascent scholarship of 
the new ,occident4 ,occupying this      
position1 it is fitting that the        
personality of ,thales should partake   
somewhat of mystery2 that the scene may 
not be shifted too suddenly from the    
vague1 impersonal ,east to the          
individualism of ,europe4  ,all of this1
 however1 must not be taken as casting  
any doubt upon the existence of ,thales 
as a real person4 ,even the dates of his
 life--#fdj to #edf ,b4,c4--may be      
accepted as at least approximately      
trustworthy2 and the specific           
discoveries ascribed to him illustrate  
equally well the stage of development of
 ,greek thought1 whether ,thales himself
 or one of his immediate disciples were 

the discoverer4 ,we have already        
mentioned the feat which was said to    
have given ,thales his great reputation4
 ,that ,thales was universally credited 
with having predicted the famous eclipse
 is beyond question4 ,that he actually  
did predict it in any precise sense of  
the word is open to doubt4 ,at all      
events1 his prediction was not based    
upon any such precise knowledge as that 
of the modern astronomer4 ,there is1    
indeed1 only one way in which he could  
have foretold the eclipse1 and that is  
through knowledge of the regular        
succession of preceding eclipses4 ,but  
that knowledge implies access on the    
part of some one to long series of      
records of practical observations of the
 heavens4 ,such records1 as we have     
seen1 existed in ,egypt and even more   
notably in ,babylonia4 ,that these      
records were the source of the          
information which established the       
reputation of ,thales is an unavoidable 
inference4 ,in other words1 the magical 

prevision of the father of ,greek       
thought was but a reflex of ,oriental   
wisdom4 ,nevertheless1 it sufficed to   
establish ,thales as the father of      
,greek astronomy4 ,in point of fact1 his
 actual astronomical attainments would  
appear to have been meagre enough4      
,there is nothing to show that he gained
 an inkling of the true character of the
 solar system4 ,he did not even         
recognize the sphericity of the earth1  
but held1 still following the ,oriental 
authorities1 that the world is a flat   
disk4 ,even his famous cosmogonic guess1
 according to which water is the essence
 of all things and the primordial       
element out of which the earth was      
developed1 is but an elaboration of the 
,babylonian conception4  ,when we turn  
to the other field of thought with which
 the name of ,thales is                 
associated--namely1 geometry--we again  
find evidence of the ,oriental          
influence4 ,the science of geometry1    
,herodotus assures us1 was invented in  

,egypt4 ,it was there an eminently      
practical science1 being applied1 as the
 name literally suggests1 to the        
measurement of the earth's surface4     
,herodotus tells us that the ,egyptians 
were obliged to cultivate the science   
because the periodical inundations      
washed away the boundary-lines between  
their farms4 ,the primitive geometer1   
then1 was a surveyor4 ,the ,egyptian    
records1 as now revealed to us1 show    
that the science had not been carried   
far in the land of its birth4 ,the      
,egyptian geometer was able to measure  
irregular pieces of land only           
approximately4 ,he never fully grasped  
the idea of the perpendicular as the    
true index of measurement for the       
triangle1 but based his calculations    
upon measurements of the actual side of 
that figure4 ,nevertheless1 he had      
learned to square the circle with a     
close approximation to the truth1 and1  
in general1 his measurement sufficed for
 all his practical needs4 ,just how much

 of the geometrical knowledge which     
added to the fame of ,thales was        
borrowed directly from the ,egyptians1  
and how much he actually created we     
cannot be sure4 ,nor is the question    
raised in disparagement of his genius4  
,receptivity is the first prerequisite  
to progressive thinking1 and that       
,thales reached out after and imbibed   
portions of ,oriental wisdom argues in  
itself for the creative character of his
 genius4 ,whether borrower of           
originator1 however1 ,thales is credited
 with the expression of the following   
geometrical truths3  #a4 ,that the      
circle is bisected by its diameter4  #b4
 ,that the angles at the base of an     
isosceles triangle are equal4  #c4 ,that
 when two straight lines cut each other 
the vertical opposite angles are equal4 
#d4 ,that the angle in a semicircle is a
 right angle4  #e4 ,that one side and   
one acute angle of a right-angle        
triangle determine the other sides of   
the triangle4  ,it was by the           

application of the last of these        
principles that ,thales is said to have 
performed the really notable feat of    
measuring the distance of a ship from   
the shore1 his method being precisely   
the same in principle as that by which  
the guns are sighted on a modern        
man-of-war4 ,another practical          
demonstration which ,thales was credited
 with making1 and to which also his     
geometrical studies led him1 was the    
measurement of any tall object1 such as 
a pyramid or building or tree1 by means 
of its shadow4 ,the method1 though      
simple enough1 was ingenious4 ,it       
consisted merely in observing the moment
 of the day when a perpendicular stick  
casts a shadow equal to its own length4 
,obviously the tree or monument would   
also cast a shadow equal to its own     
height at the same moment4 ,it remains  
then but to measure the length of this  
shadow to determine the height of the   
object4 ,such feats as this evidence the
 practicality of the genius of ,thales4 

,they suggest that ,greek science1      
guided by imagination1 was starting on  
the high-road of observation4 ,we are   
told that ,thales conceived for the     
first time the geometry of lines1 and   
that this1 indeed1 constituted his real 
advance upon the ,egyptians4 ,we are    
told also that he conceived the eclipse 
of the sun as a purely natural          
phenomenon1 and that herein lay his     
advance upon the ,chaldean point of     
view4 ,but if this be true ,thales was  
greatly in advance of his time1 for it  
will be recalled that fully two hundred 
years later the ,greeks under ,nicias   
before ,syracuse were so disconcerted by
 the appearance of an eclipse1 which was
 interpreted as a direct omen and       
warning1 that ,nicias threw away the    
last opportunity to rescue his army4    
,thucydides1 it is true1 in recording   
this fact speaks disparagingly of the   
superstitious bent of the mind of       
,nicias1 but ,thucydides also was a man 
far in advance of his time4  ,all that  

we know of the psychology of ,thales is 
summed up in the famous maxim1 ,know    
thyself1 a maxim which1 taken in        
connection with the proven receptivity  
of the philosopher's mind1 suggests to  
us a marvellously rounded personality4  
,the disciples or successors of ,thales1
 ,anaximander and ,anaximenes1 were     
credited with advancing knowledge       
through the invention or introduction of
 the sundial4 ,we may be sure1 however1 
that the gnomon1 which is the           
rudimentary sundial1 had been known and 
used from remote periods in the ,orient1
 and the most that is probable is that  
,anaximander may have elaborated some   
special design1 possibly the bowl-shaped
 sundial1 through which the shadow of   
the gnomon would indicate the time4 ,the
 same philosopher is said to have made  
the first sketch of a geographical map1 
but this again is a statement which     
modern researches have shown to be      
fallacious1 since a ,babylonian attempt 
at depicting the geography of the world 

is still preserved to us on a clay      
tablet4 ,anaximander may1 however1 have 
been the first ,greek to make an attempt
 of this kind4 ,here again the influence
 of ,babylonian science upon the        
germinating ,western thought is         
suggested4  ,it is said that            
,anaximander departed from ,thales's    
conception of the earth1 and1 it may be 
added1 from the ,babylonian conception  
also1 in that he conceived it as a      
cylinder1 or rather as a truncated cone1
 the upper end of which is the habitable
 portion4 ,this conception is perhaps   
the first of these guesses through which
 the ,greek mind attempted to explain   
the apparent fixity of the earth4 ,to   
ask what supports the earth in space is 
most natural1 but the answer given by   
,anaximander1 like that more familiar   
,greek solution which transformed the   
cone1 or cylinder1 into the giant       
,atlas1 is but another illustration of  
that substitution of unwarranted        
inference for scientific induction which

 we have already so often pointed out as
 characteristic of the primitive stages 
of thought4  ,anaximander held at least 
one theory which1 as vouched for by     
various copyists and commentators1      
entitles him to be considered perhaps   
the first teacher of the idea of organic
 evolution4 ,according to this idea1 man
 developed from a fishlike ancestor1    
growing up as sharks do until able to   
help himself and then coming forth on   
dry land47#a7 ,the thought here         
expressed finds its germ1 perhaps1 in   
the ,babylonian conception that         
everything came forth from a chaos of   
waters4 ,yet the fact that the thought  
of ,anaximander has come down to        
posterity through such various channels 
suggests that the ,greek thinker had got
 far enough away from the ,oriental     
conception to make his view seem to his 
contemporaries a novel and individual   
one4 ,indeed1 nothing we know of the    
,oriental line of thought conveys any   
suggestion of the idea of transformation

 of species1 whereas that idea is       
distinctly formulated in the traditional
 views of ,anaximander4     ,,vi4 ,,the 
,,early ,,greek ,,philosophers ,,in     
,,italy  ,diogenes ,laertius tells a    
story about a youth who1 clad in a      
purple toga1 entered the arena at the   
,olympian games and asked to compete    
with the other youths in boxing4 ,he was
 derisively denied admission1 presumably
 because he was beyond the legitimate   
age for juvenile contestants4 ,nothing  
daunted1 the youth entered the lists of 
men1 and turned the laugh on his critics
 by coming off victor4 ,the youth who   
performed this feat was named           
,pythagoras4 ,he was the same man1 if we
 may credit the story1 who afterwards   
migrated to ,italy and became the       
founder of the famous ,crotonian ,school
 of ,philosophy2 the man who developed  
the religion of the ,orphic mysteries2  
who conceived the idea of the music of  
the spheres2 who promulgated the        
doctrine of metempsychosis2 who first1  

perhaps1 of all men clearly conceived   
the notion that this world on which we  
live is a ball which moves in space and 
which may be habitable on every side4   
,a strange development that for a       
stripling pugilist4 ,but we must not    
forget that in the ,greek world         
athletics held a peculiar place4 ,the   
chief winner of ,olympian games gave his
 name to an epoch 7the ensuing ,olympiad
 of four years71 and was honored almost 
before all others in the land4 ,a sound 
mind in a sound body was the motto of   
the day4 ,to excel in feats of strength 
and dexterity was an accomplishment that
 even a philosopher need not scorn4 ,it 
will be recalled that aeschylus         
distinguished himself at the battle of  
,marathon2 that ,thucydides1 the        
greatest of ,greek historians1 was a    
general in the ,peloponnesian ,war2 that
 ,xenophon1 the pupil and biographer of 
,socrates1 was chiefly famed for having 
led the ,ten ,thousand in the memorable 
campaign of ,cyrus the ,younger2 that   

,plato himself was credited with having 
shown great aptitude in early life as a 
wrestler4 ,if1 then1 ,pythagoras the    
philosopher was really the ,pythagoras  
who won the boxing contest1 we may      
suppose that in looking back upon this  
athletic feat from the heights of his   
priesthood--for he came to be almost    
deified--he regarded it not as an       
indiscretion of his youth1 but as one of
 the greatest achievements of his life4 
,not unlikely he recalled with pride    
that he was credited with being no less 
an innovator in athletics than in       
philosophy4 ,at all events1 tradition   
credits him with the invention of       
scientific boxing4 ,was it he1 perhaps1 
who taught the ,greeks to strike a      
rising and swinging blow from the hip1  
as depicted in the famous metopes of the
 ,parthenon8 ,if so1 the innovation of  
,pythagoras was as little heeded in this
 regard in a subsequent age as was his  
theory of the motion of the earth2 for  
to strike a swinging blow from the hip1 

rather than from the shoulder1 is a     
trick which the pugilist learned anew in
 our own day4  ,but enough of pugilism  
and of what1 at best1 is a doubtful     
tradition4 ,our concern is with another 
science than that of the arena4 ,we must
 follow the purple-robed victor to      
,italy--if1 indeed1 we be not           
over-credulous in accepting the         
tradition--and learn of triumphs of a   
different kind that have placed the name
 of ,pythagoras high on the list of the 
fathers of ,grecian thought4 ,to ,italy8
 ,yes1 to the western limits of the     
,greek world4 ,here it was1 beyond the  
confines of actual ,greek territory1    
that ,hellenic thought found its second 
home1 its first home being1 as we have  
seen1 in ,asia ,minor4 ,pythagoras1     
indeed1 to whom we have just been       
introduced1 was born on the island of   
,samos1 which lies near the coast of    
,asia ,minor1 but he probably migrated  
at an early day to ,crotona1 in ,italy4 
,there he lived1 taught1 and developed  

his philosophy until rather late in     
life1 when1 having incurred the         
displeasure of his fellow-citizens1 he  
suffered the not unusual penalty of     
banishment4  ,of the three other great  
,italic leaders of thought of the early 
period1 ,xenophanes came rather late in 
life to ,elea and founded the famous    
,eleatic ,school1 of which ,parmenides  
became the most distinguished ornament4 
,these two were ,ionians1 and they lived
 in the sixth century before our era4   
,empedocles1 the ,sicilian1 was of      
,doric origin4 ,he lived about the      
middle of the fifth century ,b4,c41 at a
 time1 therefore1 when ,athens had      
attained a position of chief glory among
 the ,greek states2 but there is no     
evidence that ,empedocles ever visited  
that city1 though it was rumored that he
 returned to the ,peloponnesus to die4  
,the other great ,italic philosophers   
just named1 living1 as we have seen1 in 
the previous century1 can scarcely have 
thought of ,athens as a centre of ,greek

 thought4 ,indeed1 the very fact that   
these men lived in ,italy made that     
peninsula1 rather than the mother-land  
of ,greece1 the centre of ,hellenic     
influence4 ,but all these men1 it must  
constantly be borne in mind1 were       
,greeks by birth and language1 fully    
recognized as such in their own time and
 by posterity4 ,yet the fact that they  
lived in a land which was at no time a  
part of the geographical territory of   
,greece must not be forgotten4 ,they1 or
 their ancestors of recent generations1 
had been pioneers among those           
venturesome colonists who reached out   
into distant portions of the world1 and 
made homes for themselves in much the   
same spirit in which colonists from     
,europe began to populate ,america some 
two thousand years later4 ,in general1  
colonists from the different parts of   
,greece localized themselves somewhat   
definitely in their new homes2 yet there
 must naturally have been a good deal of
 commingling among the various families 

of pioneers1 and1 to a certain extent1 a
 mingling also with the earlier         
inhabitants of the country4 ,this racial
 mingling1 combined with the well-known 
vitalizing influence of the pioneer     
life1 led1 we may suppose1 to a more    
rapid and more varied development than  
occurred among the home-staying ,greeks4
 ,in proof of this1 witness the         
remarkable schools of philosophy which1 
as we have seen1 were thus developed at 
the confines of the ,greek world1 and   
which were presently to invade and1 as  
it were1 take by storm the              
mother-country itself4  ,as to the      
personality of these pioneer            
philosophers of the ,west1 our knowledge
 is for the most part more or less      
traditional4 ,what has been said of     
,thales may be repeated1 in the main1   
regarding ,pythagoras1 ,parmenides1 and 
,empedocles4 ,that they were real       
persons is not at all in question1 but  
much that is merely traditional has come
 to be associated with their names4     

,pythagoras was the senior1 and         
doubtless his ideas may have influenced 
the others more or less1 though each is 
usually spoken of as the founder of an  
independent school4 ,much confusion has 
all along existed1 however1 as to the   
precise ideas which were to be ascribed 
to each of the leaders4 ,numberless     
commentators1 indeed1 have endeavored to
 pick out from among the traditions of  
antiquity1 aided by such fragments1 of  
the writing of the philosophers as have 
come down to us1 the particular ideas   
that characterized each thinker1 and to 
weave these ideas into systems4 ,but    
such efforts1 notwithstanding the mental
 energy that has been expended upon     
them1 were1 of necessity1 futile1 since1
 in the first place1 the ancient        
philosophers themselves did not         
specialize and systematize their ideas  
according to modern notions1 and1 in the
 second place1 the records of their     
individual teachings have been too      
scantily preserved to serve for the     

purpose of classification4 ,it is freely
 admitted that fable has woven an       
impenetrable mesh of contradictions     
about the personalities of these ancient
 thinkers1 and it would be folly to hope
 that this same artificer had been less 
busy with their beliefs and theories4   
,when one reads that ,pythagoras        
advocated an exclusively vegetable diet1
 yet that he was the first to train     
athletes on meat diet2 that he          
sacrificed only inanimate things1 yet   
that he offered up a hundred oxen in    
honor of his great discovery regarding  
the sides of a triangle1 and such like  
inconsistencies in the same biography1  
one gains a realizing sense of the      
extent to which diverse traditions enter
 into the story as it has come down to  
us4 ,and yet we must reflect that most  
men change their opinions in the course 
of a long lifetime1 and that the        
antagonistic reports may both be true4  
,true or false1 these fables have an    
abiding interest1 since they prove the  

unique and extraordinary character of   
the personality about which they are    
woven4 ,the alleged witticisms of a     
,whistler1 in our own day1 were         
doubtless1 for the most part1 quite     
unknown to ,whistler himself1 yet they  
never would have been ascribed to him   
were they not akin to witticisms that he
 did originate--were they not1 in short1
 typical expressions of his personality4
 ,and so of the heroes of the past4 ,it 
is no ordinary man1 said ,george ,henry 
,lewes1 speaking of ,pythagoras1 whom   
fable exalts into the poetic region4    
,whenever you find romantic or          
miraculous deeds attributed1 be certain 
that the hero was great enough to       
maintain the weight of the crown of this
 fabulous glory47#a7 ,we may not doubt1 
then1 that ,pythagoras1 ,parmenides1 and
 ,empedocles1 with whose names fable was
 so busy throughout antiquity1 were men 
of extraordinary personality4 ,we are   
here chiefly concerned1 however1 neither
 with the personality of the man nor yet

 with the precise doctrines which each  
one of them taught4 ,a knowledge of the 
latter would be interesting were it     
attainable1 but in the confused state of
 the reports that have come down to us  
we cannot hope to be able to ascribe    
each idea with precision to its proper  
source4 ,at best we can merely outline1 
even here not too precisely1 the        
scientific doctrines which the ,italic  
philosophers as a whole seem to have    
advocated4  ,first and foremost1 there  
is the doctrine that the earth is a     
sphere4 ,pythagoras is said to have been
 the first advocate of this theory2 but1
 unfortunately1 it is reported also that
 ,parmenides was its author4 ,this      
rivalship for the discovery of an       
important truth we shall see repeated   
over and over in more recent times4     
,could we know the whole truth1 it would
 perhaps appear that the idea of the    
sphericity of the earth was originated  
long before the time of the ,greek      
philosophers4 ,but it must be admitted  

that there is no record of any sort to  
give tangible support to such an        
assumption4 ,so far as we can ascertain1
 no ,egyptian or ,babylonian astronomer 
ever grasped the wonderful conception   
that the earth is round4 ,that the      
,italic ,greeks should have conceived   
that idea was perhaps not so much       
because they were astronomers as because
 they were practical geographers and    
geometers4 ,pythagoras1 as we have      
noted1 was born at ,samos1 and1         
therefore1 made a relatively long sea   
voyage in passing to ,italy4 ,now1 as   
every one knows1 the most simple and    
tangible demonstration of the convexity 
of the earth's surface is furnished by  
observation of an approaching ship at   
sea4 ,on a clear day a keen eye may     
discern the mast and sails rising       
gradually above the horizon1 to be      
followed in due course by the hull4     
,similarly1 on approaching the shore1   
high objects become visible before those
 that lie nearer the water4 ,it is at   

least a plausible supposition that      
,pythagoras may have made such          
observations as these during the voyage 
in question1 and that therein may lie   
the germ of that wonderful conception of
 the world as a sphere4  ,to what extent
 further proof1 based on the fact that  
the earth's shadow when the moon is     
eclipsed is always convex1 may have been
 known to ,pythagoras we cannot say4    
,there is no proof that any of the      
,italic philosophers made extensive     
records of astronomical observations as 
did the ,egyptians and ,babylonians2 but
 we must constantly recall that the     
writings of classical antiquity have    
been almost altogether destroyed4 ,the  
absence of astronomical records is1     
therefore1 no proof that such records   
never existed4 ,pythagoras1 it should be
 said1 is reported to have travelled in 
,egypt1 and he must there have gained an
 inkling of astronomical methods4       
,indeed1 he speaks of himself           
specifically1 in a letter quoted by     

,diogenes1 as one who is accustomed to  
study astronomy4 ,yet a later sentence  
of the letter1 which asserts that the   
philosopher is not always occupied about
 speculations of his own fancy1         
suggesting1 as it does1 the dreamer     
rather than the observer1 gives us      
probably a truer glimpse into the       
philosopher's mind4 ,there is1 indeed1  
reason to suppose that the doctrine of  
the sphericity of the earth appealed to 
,pythagoras chiefly because it accorded 
with his conception that the sphere is  
the most perfect solid1 just as the     
circle is the most perfect plane        
surface4 ,be that as it may1 the fact   
remains that we have here1 as far as we 
can trace its origin1 the first         
expression of the scientific theory that
 the earth is round4 ,had the ,italic   
philosophers accomplished nothing more  
than this1 their accomplishment would   
none the less mark an epoch in the      
progress of thought4  ,that ,pythagoras 
was an observer of the heavens is       

further evidenced by the statement made 
by ,diogenes1 on the authority of       
,parmenides1 that ,pythagoras was the   
first person who discovered or asserted 
the identity of ,hesperus and           
,lucifer--that is to say1 of the morning
 and the evening star4 ,this was really 
a remarkable discovery1 and one that was
 no doubt instrumental later on in      
determining that theory of the mechanics
 of the heavens which we shall see      
elaborated presently4 ,to have made such
 a discovery argues again for the       
practicality of the mind of ,pythagoras4
 ,his1 indeed1 would seem to have been a
 mind in which practical common-sense   
was strangely blended with the capacity 
for wide and imaginative generalization4
 ,as further evidence of his            
practicality1 it is asserted that he was
 the first person who introduced        
measures and weights among the ,greeks1 
this assertion being made on the        
authority of ,aristoxenus4 ,it will be  
observed that he is said to have        

introduced1 not to have invented1       
weights and measures1 a statement which 
suggests a knowledge on the part of the 
,greeks that weights and measures were  
previously employed in ,egypt and       
,babylonia4  ,the mind that could       
conceive the world as a sphere and that 
interested itself in weights and        
measures was1 obviously1 a mind of the  
visualizing type4 ,it is characteristic 
of this type of mind to be interested in
 the tangibilities of geometry1 hence it
 is not surprising to be told that      
,pythagoras carried that science to     
perfection4 ,the most famous discovery  
of ,pythagoras in this field was that   
the square of the hypotenuse of a       
right-angled triangle is equal to the   
squares of the other sides of the       
triangle4 ,we have already noted the    
fable that his enthusiasm over this     
discovery led him to sacrifice a        
hecatomb4 ,doubtless the story is       
apocryphal1 but doubtless1 also1 it     
expresses the truth as to the fervid joy

 with which the philosopher must have   
contemplated the results of his creative
 imagination4  ,no line alleged to have 
been written by ,pythagoras has come    
down to us4 ,we are told that he        
refrained from publishing his doctrines1
 except by word of mouth4 ,the          
,lucanians and the ,peucetians1 and the 
,messapians and the ,romans1 we are     
assured1 flocked around him1 coming with
 eagerness to hear his discourses2 no   
fewer than six hundred came to him every
 night2 and if any one of them had ever 
been permitted to see the master1 they  
wrote of it to their friends as if they 
had gained some great advantage4        
,nevertheless1 we are assured that until
 the time of ,philolaus no doctrines of 
,pythagoras were ever published1 to     
which statement it is added that when   
the three celebrated books were         
published1 ,plato wrote to have them    
purchased for him for a hundred         
minas47#b7 ,but if such books existed1  
they are lost to the modern world1 and  

we are obliged to accept the assertions 
of relatively late writers as to the    
theories of the great ,crotonian4       
,perhaps we cannot do better than quote 
at length from an important summary of  
the remaining doctrines of ,pythagoras1 
which ,diogenes himself quoted from the 
work of a predecessor47#c7 ,despite its 
somewhat inchoate character1 this       
summary is a most remarkable one1 as a  
brief analysis of its contents will     
show4 ,it should be explained that      
,alexander 7whose work is now lost7 is  
said to have found these dogmas set down
 in the commentaries of ,pythagoras4 ,if
 this assertion be accepted1 we are     
brought one step nearer the philosopher 
himself4 ,the summary is as follows3    
,that the monad was the beginning of    
everything4 ,from the monad proceeds an 
indefinite duad1 which is subordinate to
 the monad as to its cause4 ,that from  
the monad and the indefinite duad       
proceed numbers4 ,and from numbers      
signs4 ,and from these last1 lines of   

which plane figures consist4 ,and from  
plane figures are derived solid bodies4 
,and from solid bodies sensible bodies1 
of which last there are four            
elements--fire1 water1 earth1 and air4  
,and that the world1 which is indued    
with life and intellect1 and which is of
 a spherical figure1 having the earth1  
which is also spherical1 and inhabited  
all over in its centre17#d7 results from
 a combination of these elements1 and   
derives its motion from them2 and also  
that there are antipodes1 and that what 
is below1 as respects us1 is above in   
respect of them4  ,he also taught that  
light and darkness1 and cold and heat1  
and dryness and moisture1 were equally  
divided in the world2 and that while    
heat was predominant it was summer2     
while cold had the mastery1 it was      
winter2 when dryness prevailed1 it was  
spring2 and when moisture preponderated1
 winter4 ,and while all these qualities 
were on a level1 then was the loveliest 
season of the year2 of which the        

flourishing spring was the wholesome    
period1 and the season of autumn the    
most pernicious one4 ,of the day1 he    
said that the flourishing period was the
 morning1 and the fading one the        
evening2 on which account that also was 
the least healthy time4  ,another of his
 theories was that the air around the   
earth was immovable and pregnant with   
disease1 and that everything in it was  
mortal2 but that the upper air was in   
perpetual motion1 and pure and          
salubrious1 and that everything in that 
was immortal1 and on that account       
divine4 ,and that the sun and the moon  
and the stars were all gods2 for in them
 the warm principle predominates which  
is the cause of life4 ,and that the moon
 derives its light from the sun4 ,and   
that there is a relationship between men
 and the gods1 because men partake of   
the divine principle2 on which account1 
also1 ,god exercises his providence for 
our advantage4 ,also1 that ,fate is the 
cause of the arrangement of the world   

both generally and particularly4        
,moreover1 that a ray from the sun      
penetrated both the cold aether and the 
dense aether2 and they call the air the 
cold aether1 and the sea and moisture   
they call the dense aether4 ,and this   
ray descends into the depths1 and in    
this way vivifies everything4 ,and      
everything which partakes of the        
principle of heat lives1 on which       
account1 also1 plants are animated      
beings2 but that all living things have 
not necessarily souls4 ,and that the    
soul is a something tom off from the    
aether1 both warm and cold1 from its    
partaking of the cold aether4 ,and that 
the soul is something different from    
life4 ,also1 that it is immortal1       
because that from which it has been     
detached is immortal4  ,also1 that      
animals are born from one another by    
seeds1 and that it is impossible for    
there to be any spontaneous production  
by the earth4 ,and that seed is a drop  
from the brain which contains in itself 

a warm vapor2 and that when this is     
applied to the womb it transmits virtue 
and moisture and blood from the brain1  
from which flesh and sinews and bones   
and hair and the whole body are         
produced4 ,and from the vapor is        
produced the soul1 and also sensation4  
,and that the infant first becomes a    
solid body at the end of forty days2    
but1 according to the principles of     
harmony1 it is not perfect till seven1  
or perhaps nine1 or at most ten months1 
and then it is brought forth4 ,and that 
it contains in itself all the principles
 of life1 which are all connected       
together1 and by their union and        
combination form a harmonious whole1    
each of them developing itself at the   
appointed time4  ,the senses in general1
 and especially the sight1 are a vapor  
of excessive warmth1 and on this account
 a man is said to see through air and   
through water4 ,for the hot principle is
 opposed by the cold one2 since1 if the 
vapor in the eyes were cold1 it would   

have the same temperature as the air1   
and so would be dissipated4 ,as it is1  
in some passages he calls the eyes the  
gates of the sun2 and he speaks in a    
similar manner of hearing and of the    
other senses4  ,he also says that the   
soul of man is divided into three parts3
 into intuition and reason and mind1 and
 that the first and last divisions are  
found also in other animals1 but that   
the middle one1 reason1 is only found in
 man4 ,and that the chief abode of the  
soul is in those parts of the body which
 are between the heart and the brain4   
,and that that portion of it which is in
 the heart is the mind2 but that        
deliberation and reason reside in the   
brain4  ,moreover1 that the senses are  
drops from them2 and that the reasoning 
sense is immortal1 but the others are   
mortal4 ,and that the soul is nourished 
by the blood2 and that reasons are the  
winds of the soul4 ,that it is          
invisible1 and so are its reasons1 since
 the aether itself is invisible4 ,that  

the links of the soul are the veins and 
the arteries and the nerves4 ,but that  
when it is vigorous1 and is by itself in
 a quiescent state1 then its links are  
words and actions4 ,that when it is cast
 forth upon the earth it wanders about1 
resembling the body4 ,moreover1 that    
,mercury is the steward of the souls1   
and that on this account he has the name
 of ,conductor1 and ,commercial1 and    
,infernal1 since it is he who conducts  
the souls from their bodies1 and from   
earth and sea2 and that he conducts the 
pure souls to the highest region1 and   
that he does not allow the impure ones  
to approach them1 nor to come near one  
another1 but commits them to be bound in
 indissoluble fetters by the ,furies4   
,the ,pythagoreans also assert that the 
whole air is full of souls1 and that    
these are those which are accounted     
daemons and heroes4 ,also1 that it is by
 them that dreams are sent among men1   
and also the tokens of disease and      
health2 these last1 too1 being sent not 

only to men1 but to sheep also1 and     
other cattle4 ,also that it is they who 
are concerned with purifications and    
expiations and all kinds of divination  
and oracular predictions1 and things of 
that kind47#e7   ,a brief consideration 
of this summary of the doctrines of     
,pythagoras will show that it at least  
outlines a most extraordinary variety of
 scientific ideas4 7#a7 ,there is       
suggested a theory of monads and the    
conception of the development from      
simple to more complex bodies1 passing  
through the stages of lines1 plain      
figures1 and solids to sensible bodies4 
7#b7 ,the doctrine of the four          
elements--fire1 water1 earth1 and       
air--as the basis of all organisms is   
put forward4 7#c7 ,the idea1 not merely 
of the sphericity of the earth1 but an  
explicit conception of the antipodes1 is
 expressed4 7#d7 ,a conception of the   
sanitary influence of the air is clearly
 expressed4 7#e7 ,an idea of the        
problems of generation and heredity is  

shown1 together with a distinct         
disavowal of the doctrine of spontaneous
 generation--a doctrine which1 it may be
 added1 remained in vogue1 nevertheless1
 for some twenty-four hundred years     
after the time of ,pythagoras4 7#f7 ,a  
remarkable analysis of mind is made1 and
 a distinction between animal minds and 
the human mind is based on this         
analysis4 ,the physiological doctrine   
that the heart is the organ of one      
department of mind is offset by the     
clear statement that the remaining      
factors of mind reside in the brain4    
,this early recognition of brain as the 
organ of mind must not be forgotten in  
our later studies4 ,it should be        
recalled1 however1 that a ,crotonian    
physician1 ,alemaean1 a younger         
contemporary of ,pythagoras1 is also    
credited with the same theory4 7#g7 ,a  
knowledge of anatomy is at least vaguely
 foreshadowed in the assertion that     
veins1 arteries1 and nerves are the     
links of the soul4 ,in this connection  

it should be recalled that ,pythagoras  
was a practical physician4  ,as against 
these scientific doctrines1 however1    
some of them being at least remarkable  
guesses at the truth1 attention must be 
called to the concluding paragraph of   
our quotation1 in which the old familiar
 daemonology is outlined1 quite after   
the ,oriental fashion4 ,we shall have   
occasion to say more as to this phase of
 the subject later on4 ,meantime1 before
 leaving ,pythagoras1 let us note that  
his practical studies of humanity led   
him to assert the doctrine that the     
property of friends is common1 and that 
friendship is equality4 ,his disciples1 
we are told1 used to put all their      
possessions together in one store and   
use them in common4 ,here1 then1        
seemingly1 is the doctrine of communism 
put to the test of experiment at this   
early day4 ,if it seem that reference to
 this carries us beyond the bounds of   
science1 it may be replied that         
questions such as this will not lie     

beyond the bounds of the science of the 
near future4   ,,xenophanes ,,and       
,,parmenides  ,there is a whimsical tale
 about ,pythagoras1 according to which  
the philosopher was wont to declare that
 in an earlier state he had visited     
,hades1 and had there seen ,homer and   
,hesiod tortured because of the absurd  
things they had said about the gods4    
,apocrypbal or otherwise1 the tale      
suggests that ,pythagoras was an        
agnostic as regards the current ,greek  
religion of his time4 ,the same thing is
 perhaps true of most of the great      
thinkers of this earliest period4 ,but  
one among them was remembered in later  
times as having had a peculiar aversion 
to the anthropomorphic conceptions of   
his fellows4 ,this was ,xenophanes1 who 
was born at ,colophon probably about the
 year #ehj ,b4,c41 and who1 after a life
 of wandering1 settled finally in ,italy
 and became the founder of the so-called
 ,eleatic ,school4  ,a few fragments of 
the philosophical poem in which         

,xenophanes expressed his views have    
come down to us1 and these fragments    
include a tolerably definite avowal of  
his faith4 ,god is one supreme among    
gods and men1 and not like mortals in   
body or in mind1 says ,xenophanes4      
,again he asserts that mortals suppose  
that the gods are born 7as they         
themselves are71 that they wear man's   
clothing and have human voice and body2 
but1 he continues1 if cattle or lions   
had hands so as to paint with their     
hands and produce works of art as men   
do1 they would paint their gods and give
 them bodies in form like their         
own--horses like horses1 cattle like    
cattle4 ,elsewhere he says1 with great  
acumen3 ,there has not been a man1 nor  
will there be1 who knows distinctly what
 ,i say about the gods or in regard to  
all things4 ,for even if one chance for 
the most part to say what is true1 still
 he would not know2 but every one thinks
 that he knows47#f7  ,in the same spirit
 ,xenophanes speaks of the battles of   

,titans1 of giants1 and of centaurs as  
fictions of former ages4 ,all this tells
 of the questioning spirit which        
distinguishes the scientific            
investigator4 ,precisely whither this   
spirit led him we do not know1 but the  
writers of a later time have preserved a
 tradition regarding a belief of        
,xenophanes that perhaps entitles him to
 be considered the father of geology4   
,thus ,hippolytus records that          
,xenophanes studied the fossils to be   
found in quarries1 and drew from their  
observation remarkable conclusions4 ,his
 words are as follows3 ,xenophanes      
believes that once the earth was mingled
 with the sea1 but in the course of time
 it became freed from moisture2 and his 
proofs are such as these3 that shells   
are found in the midst of the land and  
among the mountains1 that in the        
quarries of ,syracuse the imprints of a 
fish and of seals had been found1 and in
 ,paros the imprint of an anchovy at    
some depth in the stone1 and in ,melite 

shallow impressions of all sorts of sea 
products4 ,he says that these imprints  
were made when everything long ago was  
covered with mud1 and then the imprint  
dried in the mud4 ,further1 he says that
 all men will be destroyed when the     
earth sinks into the sea and becomes    
mud1 and that the race will begin anew  
from the beginning2 and this            
transformation takes place for all      
worlds47#g7 ,here1 then1 we see this    
earliest of paleontologists studying the
 fossil-bearing strata of the earth1 and
 drawing from his observations a        
marvellously scientific induction4      
,almost two thousand years later another
 famous citizen of ,italy1 ,leonardo da 
,vinci1 was independently to think out  
similar conclusions from like           
observations4 ,but not until the        
nineteenth century of our era1 some     
twenty-four hundred years after the time
 of ,xenophanes1 was the old ,greek's   
doctrine to be accepted by the          
scientific world4 ,the ideas of         

,xenophanes were known to his           
contemporaries and1 as we see1 quoted   
for a few centuries by his successors1  
then they were ignored or quite         
forgotten2 and if any philosopher of an 
ensuing age before the time of ,leonardo
 championed a like rational explanation 
of the fossils1 we have no record of the
 fact4 ,the geological doctrine of      
,xenophanes1 then1 must be listed among 
those remarkable ,greek anticipations of
 nineteenth-century science which       
suffered almost total eclipse in the    
intervening centuries4  ,among the      
pupils of ,xenophanes was ,parmenides1  
the thinker who was destined to carry on
 the work of his master along the same  
scientific lines1 though at the same    
time mingling his scientific conceptions
 with the mysticism of the poet4 ,we    
have already had occasion to mention    
that ,parmenides championed the idea    
that the earth is round2 noting also    
that doubts exist as to whether he or   
,pythagoras originated this doctrine4   

,no explicit answer to this question can
 possibly be hoped for4 ,it seems clear1
 however1 that for a long time the      
,italic ,school1 to which both these    
philosophers belonged1 had a monopoly of
 the belief in question4 ,parmenides1   
like ,pythagoras1 is credited with      
having believed in the motion of the    
earth1 though the evidence furnished by 
the writings of the philosopher himself 
is not as demonstrative as one could    
wish4 ,unfortunately1 the copyists of a 
later age were more concerned with      
metaphysical speculations than with more
 tangible things4 ,but as far as the    
fragmentary references to the ideas of  
,parmenides may be accepted1 they do not
 support the idea of the earth's motion4
 ,indeed1 ,parmenides is made to say    
explicitly1 in preserved fragments1 that
 the world is immovable1 limited1 and   
spheroidal in form47#h7  ,nevertheless1 
some modern interpreters have found an  
opposite meaning in ,parmenides4 ,thus  
,ritter interprets him as supposing that

 the earth is in the centre spherical1  
and maintained in rotary motion by its  
equiponderance2 around it lie certain   
rings1 the highest composed of the rare 
element fire1 the next lower a compound 
of light and darkness1 and lowest of all
 one wholly of night1 which probably    
indicated to his mind the surface of the
 earth1 the centre of which again he    
probably considered to be fire47#i7 ,but
 this1 like too many interpretations of 
ancient thought1 appears to read into   
the fragments ideas which the words     
themselves do not warrant4 ,there seems 
no reason to doubt1 however1 that       
,parmenides actually held the doctrine  
of the earth's sphericity4 ,another     
glimpse of his astronomical doctrines is
 furnished us by a fragment which tells 
us that he conceived the morning and the
 evening stars to be the same1 a        
doctrine which1 as we have seen1 was    
ascribed also to ,pythagoras4 ,indeed1  
we may repeat that it is quite          
impossible to distinguish between the   

astronomical doctrines of these two     
philosophers4  ,the poem of ,parmenides 
in which the cosmogonic speculations    
occur treats also of the origin of man4 
,the author seems to have had a clear   
conception that intelligence depends on 
bodily organism1 and that the more      
elaborately developed the organism the  
higher the intelligence4 ,but in the    
interpretation of this thought we are   
hampered by the characteristic vagueness
 of expression1 which may best be       
evidenced by putting before the reader  
two ,english translations of the same   
stanza4 ,here is ,ritter's rendering1 as
 made into ,english by his translator1  
,morrison3   ,for exactly as each has   
the state of his limbs many-jointed1 ,so
 invariably stands it with men in their 
mind and their reason2 ,for the system  
of limbs is that which thinketh in      
mankind ,alike in all and in each3 for  
thought is the fulness47#aj7  ,the same 
stanza is given thus by ,george ,henry  
,lewes3   ,such as to each man is the   

nature of his many-jointed limbs1 ,such 
also is the intelligence of each man2   
for it is ,the nature of limbs          
7organization7 which thinketh in men1   
,both in one and in all2 for the highest
 degree of organization gives the       
highest degree of thought47#aa7   ,here 
it will be observed that there is       
virtual agreement between the           
translators except as to the last       
clause1 but that clause is most         
essential4 ,the ,greek phrase is 7gr to 
gar pleon esti nohma74 ,ritter1 it will 
be observed1 renders this1 for thought  
is the fulness4 ,lewes paraphrases it1  
for the highest degree of organization  
gives the highest degree of thought4    
,the difference is intentional1 since   
,lewes himself criticises the           
translation of ,ritter4 ,ritter's       
translation is certainly the more       
literal1 but the fact that such         
diversity is possible suggests one of   
the chief elements of uncertainty that  
hamper our interpretation of the thought

 of antiquity4 ,unfortunately1 the mind 
of the commentator has usually been     
directed towards such subtleties1 rather
 than towards the expression of precise 
knowledge4 ,hence it is that the        
philosophers of ,greece are usually     
thought of as mere dreamers1 and that   
their true status as scientific         
discoverers is so often overlooked4     
,with these intangibilities we have no  
present concern beyond this bare        
mention2 for us it suffices to gain as  
clear an idea as we may of the really   
scientific conceptions of these         
thinkers1 leaving the subtleties of     
their deductive reasoning for the most  
part untouched4   ,,empedocles  ,the    
latest of the important pre-,socratic   
philosophers of the ,italic school was  
,empedocles1 who was born about #did    
,b4,c4 and lived to the age of sixty4   
,these dates make ,empedocles strictly  
contemporary with ,anaxagoras1 a fact   
which we shall do well to bear in mind  
when we come to consider the latter's   

philosophy in the succeeding chapter4   
,like ,pythagoras1 ,empedocles is an    
imposing figure4 ,indeed1 there is much 
of similarity between the personalities1
 as between the doctrines1 of the two   
men4 ,empedocles1 like ,pythagoras1 was 
a physician2 like him also he was the   
founder of a cult4 ,as statesman1       
prophet1 physicist1 physician1 reformer1
 and poet he showed a versatility that1 
coupled with profundity1 marks the      
highest genius4 ,in point of versatility
 we shall perhaps hardly find his equal 
at a later day--unless1 indeed1 an      
exception be made of ,eratosthenes4 ,the
 myths that have grown about the name of
 ,empedocles show that he was a         
remarkable personality4 ,he is said to  
have been an awe-inspiring figure1      
clothing himself in ,oriental splendor  
and moving among mankind as a superior  
being4 ,tradition has it that he threw  
himself into the crater of a volcano    
that his otherwise unexplained          
disappearance might lead his disciples  

to believe that he had been miraculously
 translated2 but tradition goes on to   
say that one of the brazen slippers of  
the philosopher was thrown up by the    
volcano1 thus revealing his subterfuge4 
,another tradition of far more credible 
aspect asserts that ,empedocles         
retreated from ,italy1 returning to the 
home of his fathers in ,peloponnesus to 
die there obscurely4 ,it seems odd that 
the facts regarding the death of so     
great a man1 at so comparatively late a 
period1 should be obscure2 but this1    
perhaps1 is in keeping with the         
personality of the man himself4 ,his    
disciples would hesitate to ascribe a   
merely natural death to so inspired a   
prophet4  ,empedocles appears to have   
been at once an observer and a dreamer4 
,he is credited with noting that the    
pressure of air will sustain the weight 
of water in an inverted tube2 with      
divining1 without the possibility of    
proof1 that light has actual motion in  
space2 and with asserting that          

centrifugal motion must keep the heavens
 from falling4 ,he is credited with a   
great sanitary feat in the draining of a
 marsh1 and his knowledge of medicine   
was held to be supernatural4            
,fortunately1 some fragments of the     
writings of ,empedocles have come down  
to us1 enabling us to judge at first    
hand as to part of his doctrines2 while 
still more is known through the         
references made to him by ,plato1       
,aristotle1 and other commentators4     
,empedocles was a poet whose verses     
stood the test of criticism4 ,in this   
regard he is in a like position with    
,parmenides2 but in neither case are the
 preserved fragments sufficient to      
enable us fully to estimate their       
author's scientific attainments4        
,philosophical writings are obscure     
enough at the best1 and they perforce   
become doubly so when expressed in      
verse4 ,yet there are certain passages  
of ,empedocles that are unequivocal and 
full of interest4 ,perhaps the most     

important conception which the works of 
,empedocles reveal to us is the denial  
of anthropomorphism as applied to deity4
 ,we have seen how early the            
anthropomorphic conception was developed
 and how closely it was all along clung 
to2 to shake the mind free from it then 
was a remarkable feat1 in accomplishing 
which ,empedocles took a long step in   
the direction of rationalism4 ,his      
conception is paralleled by that of     
another physician1 ,alcmaeon1 of        
,proton1 who contended that man's ideas 
of the gods amounted to mere            
suppositions at the very most4 ,a       
rationalistic or sceptical tendency has 
been the accompaniment of medical       
training in all ages4  ,the words in    
which ,empedocles expresses his         
conception of deity have been preserved 
and are well worth quoting3 ,it is not  
impossible1 he says1 to draw near 7to   
god7 even with the eyes or to take hold 
of him with our hands1 which in truth is
 the best highway of persuasion in the  

mind of man2 for he has no human head   
fitted to a body1 nor do two shoots     
branch out from the trunk1 nor has he   
feet1 nor swift legs1 nor hairy parts1  
but he is sacred and ineffable mind     
alone1 darting through the whole world  
with swift thoughts47#h7  ,how far      
,empedocles carried his denial of       
anthropomorphism is illustrated by a    
reference of ,aristotle1 who asserts    
that ,empedocles regards god as most    
lacking in the power of perception2 for 
he alone does not know one of the       
elements1 ,strife 7hence71 of perishable
 things4 ,it is difficult to avoid the  
feeling that ,empedocles here approaches
 the modern philosophical conception    
that ,god1 however postulated as        
immutable1 must also be postulated as   
unconscious1 since intelligence1 as we  
know it1 is dependent upon the          
transmutations of matter4 ,but to urge  
this thought would be to yield to that  
philosophizing tendency which has been  
the bane of interpretation as applied to

 the ancient thinkers4  ,considering for
 a moment the more tangible             
accomplishments of ,empedocles1 we find 
it alleged that one of his miracles     
consisted of the preservation of a dead 
body without putrefaction for some weeks
 after death4 ,we may assume from this  
that he had gained in some way a        
knowledge of embalming4 ,as he was      
notoriously fond of experiment1 and as  
the body in question 7assuming for the  
moment the authenticity of the legend7  
must have been preserved without        
disfigurement1 it is conceivable even   
that he had hit upon the idea of        
injecting the arteries4 ,this1 of       
course1 is pure conjecture2 yet it finds
 a certain warrant1 both in the fact    
that the words of ,pythagoras lead us to
 believe that the arteries were known   
and studied1 and in the fact that       
,empedocles' own words reveal him also  
as a student of the vascular system4    
,thus ,plutarch cites ,empedocles as    
believing that the ruling part is not in

 the head or in the breast1 but in the  
blood2 wherefore in whatever part of the
 body the more of this is spread in that
 part men excel47#ac7 ,and ,empedocles' 
own words1 as preserved by ,stobaeus1   
assert 7the heart7 lies in seas of blood
 which dart in opposite directions1 and 
there most of all intelligence centres  
for men2 for blood about the heart is   
intelligence in the case of man4 ,all   
this implies a really remarkable        
appreciation of the dependence of vital 
activities upon the blood4  ,this       
correct physiological conception1       
however1 was by no means the most       
remarkable of the ideas to which        
,empedoeles was led by his anatomical   
studies4 ,his greatest accomplishment   
was to have conceived and clearly       
expressed an idea which the modern      
evolutionist connotes when he speaks of 
homologous parts--an idea which found a 
famous modern expositor in ,goethe1 as  
we shall see when we come to deal with  
eighteenth-century science4 ,empedocles 

expresses the idea in these words3      
,hair1 and leaves1 and thick feathers of
 birds1 are the same thing in origin1   
and reptile scales too on strong limbs4 
,but on hedgehogs sharp-pointed hair    
bristles on their backs47#ad7 ,that the 
idea of transmutation of parts1 as well 
as of mere homology1 was in mind is     
evidenced by a very remarkable sentence 
in which ,aristotle asserts1 ,empedocles
 says that fingernails rise from sinew  
from hardening4 ,nor is this quite all1 
for surely we find the germ of the      
,lamarckian conception of evolution     
through the transmission of acquired    
characters in the assertion that many   
characteristics appear in animals       
because it happened to be thus in their 
birth1 as that they have such a spine   
because they happen to be descended from
 one that bent itself backward47#ae7    
,aristotle1 in quoting this remark1     
asserts1 with the dogmatism which       
characterizes the philosophical         
commentators of every age1 that         

,empedocles is wrong1 in making this    
assertion2 but ,lamarck1 who lived      
twenty-three hundred years after        
,empedocles1 is famous in the history of
 the doctrine of evolution for          
elaborating this very idea4  ,it is fair
 to add1 however1 that the dreamings of 
,empedocles regarding the origin of     
living organisms led him to some        
conceptions that were much less         
luminous4 ,on occasion1 ,empedocles the 
poet got the better of ,empedocles the  
scientist1 and we are presented with a  
conception of creation as grotesque as  
that which delighted the readers of     
,paradise ,lost at a later day4         
,empedocles assures us that many heads  
grow up without necks1 and arms were    
wandering about1 necks bereft of        
shoulders1 and eyes roamed about alone  
with no foreheads47#af7 ,this chaotic   
condition1 so the poet dreamed1 led to  
the union of many incongruous parts1    
producing creatures with double faces1  
offspring of oxen with human faces1 and 

children of men with oxen heads4 ,but   
out of this chaos came1 finally1 we are 
led to infer1 a harmonious aggregation  
of parts1 producing ultimately the      
perfected organisms that we see4        
,unfortunately the preserved portions of
 the writings of ,empedocles do not     
enlighten us as to the precise way in   
which final evolution was supposed to be
 effected2 although the idea of endless 
experimentation until natural selection 
resulted in survival of the fittest     
seems not far afield from certain of the
 poetical assertions4 ,thus3 ,as        
divinity was mingled yet more with      
divinity1 these things 7the various     
members7 kept coming together in        
whatever way each might chance4 ,again3 
,at one time all the limbs which form   
the body united into one by love grew   
vigorously in the prime of life2 but yet
 at another time1 separated by evil     
,strife1 they wander each in different  
directions along the breakers of the sea
 of life4 ,just so is it with plants1   

and with fishes dwelling in watery      
halls1 and beasts whose lair is in the  
mountains1 and birds borne on           
wings47#ag7  ,all this is poetry rather 
than science1 yet such imaginings could 
come only to one who was groping towards
 what we moderns should term an         
evolutionary conception of the origins  
of organic life2 and however grotesque  
some of these expressions may appear1 it
 must be admitted that the morphological
 ideas of ,empedocles1 as above quoted1 
give the ,sicilian philosopher a secure 
place among the anticipators of the     
modern evolutionist4     ,,vii4 ,,greek 
,,science ,,in ,,the ,,early ,,attic    
,,period  ,we have travelled rather far 
in our study of ,greek science1 and yet 
we have not until now come to ,greece   
itself4 ,and even now1 the men whose    
names we are to consider were1 for the  
most part1 born in out-lying portions of
 the empire2 they differed from the     
others we have considered only in the   
fact that they were drawn presently to  

the capital4 ,the change is due to a    
most interesting sequence of historical 
events4 ,in the day when ,thales and his
 immediate successors taught in         
,miletus1 when the great men of the     
,italic school were in their prime1     
there was no single undisputed ,centre  
of ,greek influence4 ,the ,greeks were a
 disorganized company of petty nations1 
welded together chiefly by unity of     
speech2 but now1 early in the fifth     
century ,b4,c41 occurred that famous    
attack upon the ,western world by the   
,persians under ,darius and his son and 
successor ,xerxes4 ,a few months of     
battling determined the fate of the     
,western world4 ,the ,orientals were    
hurled back2 the glorious memories of   
,marathon1 ,salamis1 and ,plataea       
stimulated the patriotism and enthusiasm
 of all children of the ,greek race4    
,the ,greeks1 for the first time1       
occupied the centre of the historical   
stage2 for the brief interval of about  
half a century the different ,grecian   

principalities lived together in        
relative harmony4 ,one city was         
recognized as the metropolis of the     
loosely bound empire2 one city became   
the home of culture and the ,mecca      
towards which all eyes turned2 that     
city1 of course1 was ,athens4 ,for a    
brief time all roads led to ,athens1 as1
 at a later date1 they all led to ,rome4
 ,the waterways which alone bound the   
widely scattered parts of ,hellas into a
 united whole led out from ,athens and  
back to ,athens1 as the spokes of a     
wheel to its hub4 ,athens was the       
commercial centre1 and1 largely for that
 reason1 it became the centre of culture
 and intellectual influence also4 ,the  
wise men from the colonies visited the  
metropolis1 and the wise ,athenians went
 out to the colonies4 ,whoever aspired  
to become a leader in politics1 in art1 
in literature1 or in philosophy1 made   
his way to the capital1 and so1 with    
almost bewildering suddenness1 there    
blossomed the civilization of the age of

 ,pericles2 the civilization which      
produced aeschylus1 ,sophocles1         
,euripides1 ,herodotus1 and ,thucydides2
 the civilization which made possible   
the building of the ,parthenon4         
,,anaxagoras  ,sometime during the early
 part of this golden age there came to  
,athens a middle-aged man from          
,clazomenae1 who1 from our present      
stand-point1 was a more interesting     
personality than perhaps any other in   
the great galaxy of remarkable men      
assembled there4 ,the name of this      
new-comer was ,anaxagoras4 ,it was said 
in after-time1 we know not with what    
degree of truth1 that he had been a     
pupil of ,anaximenes4 ,if so1 he was a  
pupil who departed far from the         
teachings of his master4 ,what we know  
for certain is that ,anaxagoras was a   
truly original thinker1 and that he     
became a close friend--in a sense the   
teacher--of ,pericles and of ,euripides4
 ,just how long he remained at ,athens  
is not certain2 but the time came when  

he had made himself in some way         
objectionable to the ,athenian populace 
through his teachings4 ,filled with the 
spirit of the investigator1 he could not
 accept the current conceptions as to   
the gods4 ,he was a sceptic1 an         
innovator4 ,such men are never welcome2 
they are the chief factors in the       
progress of thought1 but they must look 
always to posterity for recognition of  
their worth2 from their contemporaries  
they receive1 not thanks1 but           
persecution4 ,sometimes this persecution
 takes one form1 sometimes another2 to  
the credit of the ,greeks be it said1   
that with them it usually led to nothing
 more severe than banishment4 ,in the   
case of ,anaxagoras1 it is alleged that 
the sentence pronounced was death2 but  
that1 thanks to the influence of        
,pericles1 this sentence was commuted to
 banishment4 ,in any event1 the aged    
philosopher was sent away from the city 
of his adoption4 ,he retired to         
,lampsacus4 ,it is not ,i that have lost

 the ,athenians1 he said2 it is the     
,athenians that have lost me4  ,the     
exact position which ,anaxagoras had    
among his contemporaries1 and his exact 
place in the development of philosophy1 
have always been somewhat in dispute4   
,it is not known1 of a certainty1 that  
he even held an open school at ,athens4 
,ritter thinks it doubtful that he did4 
,it was his fate to be misunderstood1 or
 underestimated1 by ,aristotle2 that in 
itself would have sufficed greatly to   
dim his fame--might1 indeed1 have led to
 his almost entire neglect had he not   
been a truly remarkable thinker4 ,with  
most of the questions that have         
exercised the commentators we have but  
scant concern4 ,following ,aristotle1   
most historians of philosophy have been 
metaphysicians2 they have concerned     
themselves far less with what the       
ancient thinkers really knew than with  
what they thought4 ,a chance using of a 
verbal quibble1 an esoteric phrase1 the 
expression of a vague mysticism--these  

would suffice to call forth reams of    
exposition4 ,it has been the favorite   
pastime of historians to weave their own
 anachronistic theories upon the scanty 
woof of the half-remembered thoughts of 
the ancient philosophers4 ,to make such 
cloth of the imagination as this is an  
alluring pastime1 but one that must not 
divert us here4 ,our point of view      
reverses that of the philosophers4 ,we  
are chiefly concerned1 not with some    
vague saying of ,anaxagoras1 but with   
what he really knew regarding the       
phenomena of nature2 with what he       
observed1 and with the comprehensible   
deductions that he derived from his     
observations4 ,in attempting to answer  
these inquiries1 we are obliged1 in     
part1 to take our evidence at           
second-hand2 but1 fortunately1 some     
fragments of writings of ,anaxagoras    
have come down to us4 ,we are told that 
he wrote only a single book4 ,it was    
said even 7by ,diogenes7 that he was the
 first man that ever wrote a work in    

prose4 ,the latter statement would not  
bear too close an examination1 yet it is
 true that no extensive prose           
compositions of an earlier day than this
 have been preserved1 though numerous   
others are known by their fragments4    
,herodotus1 the father of prose1 was a  
slightly younger contemporary of the    
,clazomenaean philosopher2 not unlikely 
the two men may have met at ,athens4    
,notwithstanding the loss of the greater
 part of the writings of ,anaxagoras1   
however1 a tolerably precise account of 
his scientific doctrines is accessible4 
,diogenes ,laertius expresses some of   
them in very clear and precise terms4   
,we have already pointed out the        
uncertainty that attaches to such       
evidence as this1 but it is as valid for
 ,anaxagoras as for another4 ,if we     
reject such evidence1 we shall often    
have almost nothing left2 in accepting  
it we may at least feel certain that we 
are viewing the thinker as his          
contemporaries and immediate successors 

viewed him4 ,following ,diogenes1 then1 
we shall find some remarkable scientific
 opinions ascribed to ,anaxagoras4 ,he  
asserted1 we are told1 that the sun was 
a mass of burning iron1 greater than    
,peloponnesus1 and that the moon        
contained houses and also hills and     
ravines4 ,in corroboration of this1     
,plato represents him as having         
conjectured the right explanation of the
 moon's light1 and of the solar and     
lunar eclipses4 ,he had other           
astronomical theories that were more    
fanciful2 thus he said that the stars   
originally moved about in irregular     
confusion1 so that at first the         
pole-star1 which is continually visible1
 always appeared in the zenith1 but that
 afterwards it acquired a certain       
declination1 and that the ,milky ,way   
was a reflection of the light of the sun
 when the stars did not appear4 ,the    
comets he considered to be a concourse  
of planets emitting rays1 and the       
shooting-stars he thought were sparks1  

as it were1 leaping from the firmament4 
,much of this is far enough from the    
truth1 as we now know it1 yet all of it 
shows an earnest endeavor to explain the
 observed phenomena of the heavens on   
rational principles4 ,to have predicated
 the sun as a great molten mass of iron 
was indeed a wonderful anticipation of  
the results of the modern spectroscope4 
,nor can it be said that this hypothesis
 of ,anaxagoras was a purely visionary  
guess4 ,it was in all probability a     
scientific deduction from the observed  
character of meteoric stones4 ,reference
 has already been made to the alleged   
prediction of the fall of the famous    
meteor at aegespotomi by ,anaxagoras4   
,the assertion that he actually         
predicted this fall in any proper sense 
of the word would be obviously absurd4  
,yet the fact that his name is          
associated with it suggests that he had 
studied similar meteorites1 or else that
 he studied this particular one1 since  
it is not quite clear whether it was    

before or after this fall that he made  
the famous assertion that space is full 
of falling stones4 ,we should stretch   
the probabilities were we to assert that
 ,anaxagoras knew that shooting-stars   
and meteors were the same1 yet there is 
an interesting suggestiveness in his    
likening the shooting-stars to sparks   
leaping from the firmament1 taken in    
connection with his observation on      
meteorites4 ,be this as it may1 the fact
 that something which falls from heaven 
as a blazing light turns out to be an   
iron-like mass may very well have       
suggested to the most rational of       
thinkers that the great blazing light   
called the sun has the same composition4
 ,this idea grasped1 it was a not       
unnatural extension to conceive the     
other heavenly bodies as having the same
 composition4  ,this led to a truly     
startling thought4 ,since the heavenly  
bodies are of the same composition as   
the earth1 and since they are observed  
to be whirling about the earth in space1

 may we not suppose that they were once 
a part of the earth itself1 and that    
they have been thrown off by the force  
of a whirling motion8 ,such was the     
conclusion which ,anaxagoras reached2   
such his explanation of the origin of   
the heavenly bodies4 ,it was a          
marvellous guess4 ,deduct from it all   
that recent science has shown to be     
untrue2 bear in mind that the stars are 
suns1 compared with which the earth is a
 mere speck of dust2 recall that the sun
 is parent1 not daughter1 of the earth1 
and despite all these deductions1 the   
cosmogonic guess of ,anaxagoras remains1
 as it seems to us1 one of the most     
marvellous feats of human intelligence4 
,it was the first explanation of the    
cosmic bodies that could be called1 in  
any sense1 an anticipation of what the  
science of our own day accepts as a true
 explanation of cosmic origins4         
,moreover1 let us urge again that this  
was no mere accidental flight of the    
imagination2 it was a scientific        

induction based on the only data        
available2 perhaps it is not too much to
 say that it was the only scientific    
induction which these data would fairly 
sustain4 ,of course it is not for a     
moment to be inferred that ,anaxagoras  
understood1 in the modern sense1 the    
character of that whirling force which  
we call centrifugal4 ,about two thousand
 years were yet to elapse before that   
force was explained as elementary       
inertia2 and even that explanation1 let 
us not forget1 merely sufficed to push  
back the barriers of mystery by one     
other stage2 for even in our day inertia
 is a statement of fact rather than an  
explanation4  ,but however little       
,anaxagoras could explain the           
centrifugal force on mechanical         
principles1 the practical powers of that
 force were sufficiently open to his    
observation4 ,the mere experiment of    
throwing a stone from a sling would1 to 
an observing mind1 be full of           
suggestiveness4 ,it would be obvious    

that by whirling the sling about1 the   
stone which it held would be sustained  
in its circling path about the hand in  
seeming defiance of the earth's pull1   
and after the stone had left the sling1 
it could fly away from the earth to a   
distance which the most casual          
observation would prove to be           
proportionate to the speed of its       
flight4 ,extremely rapid motion1 then1  
might project bodies from the earth's   
surface off into space2 a sufficiently  
rapid whirl would keep them there4      
,anaxagoras conceived that this was     
precisely what had occurred4 ,his       
imagination even carried him a step     
farther--to a conception of a slackening
 of speed1 through which the heavenly   
bodies would lose their centrifugal     
force1 and1 responding to the perpetual 
pull of gravitation1 would fall back to 
the earth1 just as the great stone at   
aegespotomi had been observed to do4    
,here we would seem to have a clear     
conception of the idea of universal     

gravitation1 and ,anaxagoras stands     
before us as the anticipator of ,newton4
 ,were it not for one scientific maxim1 
we might exalt the old ,greek above the 
greatest of modern natural philosophers2
 but that maxim bids us pause4 ,it is   
phrased thus1 ,he discovers who proves4 
,anaxagoras could not prove2 his        
argument was at best suggestive1 not    
demonstrative4 ,he did not even know the
 laws which govern falling bodies2 much 
less could he apply such laws1 even had 
he known them1 to sidereal bodies at    
whose size and distance he could only   
guess in the vaguest terms4 ,still his  
cosmogonic speculation remains as       
perhaps the most remarkable one of      
antiquity4 ,how widely his speculation  
found currency among his immediate      
successors is instanced in a passage    
from ,plato1 where ,socrates is         
represented as scornfully answering a   
calumniator in these terms3 ,he asserts 
that ,i say the sun is a stone and the  
moon an earth4 ,do you think of accusing

 ,anaxagoras1 ,miletas1 and have you so 
low an opinion of these men1 and think  
them so unskilled in laws1 as not to    
know that the books of ,anaxagoras the  
,clazomenaean are full of these         
doctrines4 ,and forsooth the young men  
are learning these matters from me which
 sometimes they can buy from the        
orchestra for a drachma1 at the most1   
and laugh at ,socrates if he pretends   
they are his-particularly seeing they   
are so strange4  ,the element of error  
contained in these cosmogonic           
speculations of ,anaxagoras has led     
critics to do them something less than  
justice4 ,but there is one other        
astronomical speculation for which the  
,clazomenaean philosopher has received  
full credit4 ,it is generally admitted  
that it was he who first found out the  
explanation of the phases of the moon2 a
 knowledge that that body shines only by
 reflected light1 and that its visible  
forms1 waxing and waning month by month 
from crescent to disk and from disk to  

crescent1 merely represent our shifting 
view of its sun-illumined face4 ,it is  
difficult to put ourselves in the place 
of the ancient observer and realize how 
little the appearances suggest the      
actual fact4 ,that a body of the same   
structure as the earth should shine with
 the radiance of the moon merely because
 sunlight is reflected from it1 is in   
itself a supposition seemingly          
contradicted by ordinary experience4 ,it
 required the mind of a philosopher1    
sustained1 perhaps1 by some experimental
 observations1 to conceive the idea that
 what seems so obviously bright may be  
in reality dark4 ,the germ of the       
conception of what the philosopher      
speaks of as the noumena1 or            
actualities1 back of phenomena or       
appearances1 had perhaps this crude     
beginning4 ,anaxagoras could surely     
point to the moon in support of his     
seeming paradox that snow1 being really 
composed of water1 which is dark1 is in 
reality black and not white--a          

contention to which we shall refer more 
at length in a moment4  ,but there is   
yet another striking thought connected  
with this new explanation of the phases 
of the moon4 ,the explanation implies   
not merely the reflection of light by a 
dark body1 but by a dark body of a      
particular form4 ,granted that          
reflections are in question1 no body but
 a spherical one could give an          
appearance which the moon presents4 ,the
 moon1 then1 is not merely a mass of    
earth1 it is a spherical mass of earth4 
,here there were no flaws in the        
reasoning of ,anaxagoras4 ,by scientific
 induction he passed from observation to
 explanation4 ,a new and most important 
element was added to the science of     
astronomy4  ,looking back from the      
latter-day stand-point1 it would seem as
 if the mind of the philosopher must    
have taken one other step3 the mind that
 had conceived sun1 moon1 stars1 and    
earth to be of one substance might      
naturally1 we should think1 have reached

 out to the further induction that1     
since the moon is a sphere1 the other   
cosmic bodies1 including the earth1 must
 be spheres also4 ,but generalizer as he
 was1 ,anaxagoras was too rigidly       
scientific a thinker to make this       
assumption4 ,the data at his command did
 not1 as he analyzed them1 seem to point
 to this conclusion4 ,we have seen that 
,pythagoras probably1 and ,parmenides   
surely1 out there in ,italy had         
conceived the idea of the earth's       
rotundity1 but the ,pythagorean         
doctrines were not rapidly taken up in  
the mother-country1 and ,parmenides1 it 
must be recalled1 was a strict          
contemporary of ,anaxagoras himself4 ,it
 is no reproach1 therefore1 to the      
,clazomenaean philosopher that he should
 have held to the old idea that the     
earth is flat1 or at most a convex      
disk--the latter being the ,babylonian  
conception which probably dominated that
 ,milesian school to which ,anaxagoras  
harked back4  ,anaxagoras may never have

 seen an eclipse of the moon1 and even  
if he had he might have reflected that1 
from certain directions1 a disk may     
throw precisely the same shadow as a    
sphere4 ,moreover1 in reference to the  
shadow cast by the earth1 there was1 so 
,anaxagoras believed1 an observation    
open to him nightly which1 we may well  
suppose1 was not without influence in   
suggesting to his mind the probable     
shape of the earth4 ,the ,milky ,way1   
which doubtless had puzzled astronomers 
from the beginnings of history and which
 was to continue to puzzle them for many
 centuries after the day of ,anaxagoras1
 was explained by the ,clazomenaean     
philosopher on a theory obviously       
suggested by the theory of the moon's   
phases4 ,since the earth-like moon      
shines by reflected light at night1 and 
since the stars seem obviously brighter 
on dark nights1 ,anaxagoras was but     
following up a perfectly logical        
induction when he propounded the theory 
that the stars in the ,milky ,way seem  

more numerous and brighter than those of
 any other part of the heavens1 merely  
because the ,milky ,way marks the shadow
 of the earth4 ,of course the inference 
was wrong1 so far as the shadow of the  
earth is concerned2 yet it contained a  
part truth1 the force of which was never
 fully recognized until the time of     
,galileo4 ,this consists in the         
assertion that the brightness of the    
,milky ,way is merely due to the glow of
 many stars4 ,the shadow-theory of      
,anaxagoras would naturally cease to    
have validity so soon as the sphericity 
of the earth was proved1 and with it1   
seemingly1 fell for the time the        
companion theory that the ,milky ,way is
 made up of a multitude of stars4  ,it  
has been said by a modern critic7#a7    
that the shadow-theory was childish in  
that it failed to note that the ,milky  
,way does not follow the course of the  
ecliptic4 ,but this criticism only holds
 good so long as we reflect on the true 
character of the earth as a symmetrical 

body poised in space4 ,it is quite      
possible to conceive a body occupying   
the position of the earth with reference
 to the sun which would cast a shadow   
having such a tenuous form as the ,milky
 ,way presents4 ,such a body obviously  
would not be a globe1 but a             
long-drawn-out1 attenuated figure4      
,there is1 to be sure1 no direct        
evidence preserved to show that         
,anaxagoras conceived the world to      
present such a figure as this1 but what 
we know of that philosopher's           
close-reasoning1 logical mind gives some
 warrant to the assumption--gratuitous  
though in a sense it be--that the author
 of the theory of the moon's phases had 
not failed to ask himself what must be  
the form of that terrestrial body which 
could cast the tenuous shadow of the    
,milky ,way4 ,moreover1 we must recall  
that the habitable earth1 as known to   
the ,greeks of that day1 was a          
relatively narrow band of territory1    
stretching far to the east and to the   

west4   ,anaxagoras as ,meteorologist   
,the man who had studied the meteorite  
of aegospotami1 and been put by it on   
the track of such remarkable inductions1
 was1 naturally1 not oblivious to the   
other phenomena of the atmosphere4      
,indeed1 such a mind as that of         
,anaxagoras was sure to investigate all 
manner of natural phenomena1 and almost 
equally sure to throw new light on any  
subject that it investigated4 ,hence it 
is not surprising to find ,anaxagoras   
credited with explaining the winds as   
due to the rarefactions of the          
atmosphere produced by the sun4 ,this   
explanation gives ,anaxagoras full right
 to be called the father of meteorology1
 a title which1 it may be1 no one has   
thought of applying to him1 chiefly     
because the science of meteorology did  
not make its real beginnings until some 
twenty-four hundred years after the     
death of its first great votary4 ,not   
content with explaining the winds1 this 
prototype of ,franklin turned his       

attention even to the tipper atmosphere4
 ,thunder1 he is reputed to have said1  
was produced by the collision of the    
clouds1 and lightning by the rubbing    
together of the clouds4 ,we dare not go 
so far as to suggest that this implies  
an association in the mind of           
,anaxagoras between the friction of the 
clouds and the observed electrical      
effects generated by the friction of    
such a substance as amber4 ,to make such
 a suggestion doubtless would be to fall
 victim to the old familiar propensity  
to read into ,homer things that ,homer  
never knew4 ,yet the significant fact   
remains that ,anaxagoras ascribed to    
thunder and to lightning their true     
position as strictly natural phenomena4 
,for him it was no god that menaced     
humanity with thundering voice and the  
flash of his divine fires from the      
clouds4 ,little wonder that the thinker 
whose science carried him to such       
scepticism as this should have felt the 
wrath of the superstitious ,athenians4  

,biological ,speculations  ,passing from
 the phenomena of the air to those of   
the earth itself1 we learn that         
,anaxagoras explained an earthquake as  
being produced by the returning of air  
into the earth4 ,we cannot be sure as to
 the exact meaning here1 though the idea
 that gases are imprisoned in the       
substance of the earth seems not far    
afield4 ,but a far more remarkable      
insight than this would imply was shown 
by ,anaxagoras when he asserted that a  
certain amount of air is contained in   
water1 and that fishes breathe this air4
 ,the passage of ,aristotle in which    
this opinion is ascribed to ,anaxagoras 
is of sufficient interest to be quoted  
at length3  ,democritus1 of ,abdera1    
says ,aristotle1 and some others1 that  
have spoken concerning respiration1 have
 determined nothing concerning other    
animals1 but seem to have supposed that 
all animals respire4 ,but ,anaxagoras   
and ,diogenes 7,apolloniates71 who say  
that all animals respire1 have also     

endeavored to explain how fishes1 and   
all those animals that have a hard1     
rough shell1 such as oysters1 mussels1  
etc41 respire4 ,and ,anaxagoras1 indeed1
 says that fishes1 when they emit water 
through their gills1 attract air from   
the mouth to the vacuum in the viscera  
from the water which surrounds the      
mouth2 as if air was inherent in the    
water47#b7  ,it should be recalled that 
of the three philosophers thus mentioned
 as contending that all animals respire1
 ,anaxagoras was the elder2 he1         
therefore1 was presumably the originator
 of the idea4 ,it will be observed1 too1
 that ,anaxagoras alone is held         
responsible for the idea that fishes    
respire air through their gills1        
attracting it from the water4 ,this     
certainly was one of the shrewdest      
physiological guesses of any age1 if it 
be regarded as a mere guess4 ,with      
greater justice we might refer to it as 
a profound deduction from the principle 
of the uniformity of nature4  ,in making

 such a deduction1 ,anaxagoras was far  
in advance of his time as illustrated by
 the fact that ,aristotle makes the     
citation we have just quoted merely to  
add that such things are impossible1 and
 to refute these impossible ideas by    
means of metaphysical reasonings that   
seemed demonstrative not merely to      
himself1 but to many generations of his 
followers4  ,we are told that           
,anaxagoras alleged that all animals    
were originally generated out of        
moisture1 heat1 and earth particles4    
,just what opinion he held concerning   
man's development we are not informed4  
,yet there is one of his phrases which  
suggests--without1 perhaps1 quite       
proving--that he was an evolutionist4   
,this phrase asserts1 with insight that 
is fairly startling1 that man is the    
most intelligent of animals because he  
has hands4 ,the man who could make that 
assertion must1 it would seem1 have had 
in mind the idea of the development of  
intelligence through the use of         

hands--an idea the full force of which  
was not evident to subsequent           
generations of thinkers until the time  
of ,darwin4   ,physical ,speculations   
,anaxagoras is cited by ,aristotle as   
believing that plants are animals and   
feel pleasure and pain1 inferring this  
because they shed their leaves and let  
them grow again4 ,the idea is fanciful1 
yet it suggests again a truly           
philosophical conception of the unity of
 nature4 ,the man who could conceive    
that idea was but little hampered by    
traditional conceptions4 ,he was        
exercising a rare combination of the    
rigidly scientific spirit with the      
poetical imagination4 ,he who possesses 
these gifts is sure not to stop in his  
questionings of nature until he has     
found some thinkable explanation of the 
character of matter itself4 ,anaxagoras 
found such an explanation1 and1 as good 
luck would have it1 that explanation has
 been preserved4 ,let us examine his    
reasoning in some detail4 ,we have      

already referred to the claim alleged to
 have been made by ,anaxagoras that snow
 is not really white1 but black4 ,the   
philosopher explained his paradox1 we   
are told1 by asserting that snow is     
really water1 and that water is dark1   
when viewed under proper conditions--as 
at the bottom of a well4 ,that idea     
contains the germ of the ,clazomenaean  
philosopher's conception of the nature  
of matter4 ,indeed1 it is not unlikely  
that this theory of matter grew out of  
his observation of the changing forms of
 water4 ,he seems clearly to have       
grasped the idea that snow on the one   
hand1 and vapor on the other1 are of the
 same intimate substance as the water   
from which they are derived and into    
which they may be again transformed4    
,the fact that steam and snow can be    
changed back into water1 and by simple  
manipulation cannot be changed into any 
other substance1 finds1 as we now       
believe1 its true explanation in the    
fact that the molecular structure1 as we

 phrase it--that is to say1 the ultimate
 particle of which water is composed1 is
 not changed1 and this is precisely the 
explanation which ,anaxagoras gave of   
the same phenomena4 ,for him the unit   
particle of water constituted an        
elementary body1 uncreated1             
unchangeable1 indestructible4 ,this     
particle1 in association with like      
particles1 constitutes the substance    
which we call water4 ,the same particle 
in association with particles unlike    
itself1 might produce totally different 
substances--as1 for example1 when water 
is taken up by the roots of a plant and 
becomes1 seemingly1 a part of the       
substance of the plant4 ,but whatever   
the changed association1 so ,anaxagoras 
reasoned1 the ultimate particle of water
 remains a particle of water still4 ,and
 what was true of water was true also1  
so he conceived1 of every other         
substance4 ,gold1 silver1 iron1 earth1  
and the various vegetables and animal   
tissues--in short1 each and every one of

 all the different substances with which
 experience makes us familiar1 is made  
up of unit particles which maintain     
their integrity in whatever combination 
they may be associated4 ,this implies1  
obviously1 a multitude of primordial    
particles1 each one having an           
individuality of its own2 each one1 like
 the particle of water already cited1   
uncreated1 unchangeable1 and            
indestructible4  ,fortunately1 we have  
the philosopher's own words to guide us 
as to his speculations here4 ,the       
fragments of his writings that have come
 down to us 7chiefly through the        
quotations of ,simplicius7 deal almost  
exclusively with these ultimate         
conceptions of his imagination4 ,in     
ascribing to him1 then1 this conception 
of diverse1 uncreated1 primordial       
elements1 which can never be changed1   
but can only be mixed together to form  
substances of the material world1 we are
 not reading back post-,daltonian       
knowledge into the system of            

,anaxagoras4 ,here are his words3 ,the  
,greeks do not rightly use the terms    
'coming into being' and 'perishing4'    
,for nothing comes into being1 nor1 yet1
 does anything perish2 but there is     
mixture and separation of things that   
are4 ,so they would do right in calling 
'coming into being' 'mixture' and       
'perishing' 'separation4' ,for how could
 hair come from what is not hair8 ,or   
flesh from what is not flesh8           
,elsewhere he tells us that 7at one     
stage of the world's development7 the   
dense1 the moist1 the cold1 the dark1   
collected there where now is earth2 the 
rare1 the warm1 the dry1 the bright1    
departed towards the further part of the
 aether4 ,the earth is condensed out of 
these things that are separated1 for    
water is separated from the clouds1 and 
earth from the water2 and from the earth
 stones are condensed by the cold1 and  
these are separated farther from the    
water4 ,here again the influence of heat
 and cold in determining physical       

qualities is kept pre-eminently in mind4
 ,the dense1 the moist1 the cold1 the   
dark are contrasted with the rare1 the  
warm1 the dry1 and bright2 and the      
formation of stones is spoken of as a   
specific condensation due to the        
influence of cold4 ,here1 then1 we have 
nearly all the elements of the          
,daltonian theory of atoms on the one   
hand1 and the nebular hypothesis of     
,laplace on the other4 ,but this is not 
quite all4 ,in addition to such diverse 
elementary particles as those of gold1  
water1 and the rest1 ,anaxagoras        
conceived a species of particles        
differing from all the others1 not      
merely as they differ from one another1 
but constituting a class by themselves2 
particles infinitely smaller than the   
others2 particles that are described as 
infinite1 self-powerful1 mixed with     
nothing1 but existing alone4 ,that is to
 say 7interpreting the theory in the    
only way that seems plausible71 these   
most minute particles do not mix with   

the other primordial particles to form  
material substances in the same way in  
which these mixed with one another4     
,but1 on the other hand1 these infinite1
 self-powerful1 and unmixed particles   
commingle everywhere and in every       
substance whatever with the mixed       
particles that go to make up the        
substances4  ,there is a distinction    
here1 it will be observed1 which at once
 suggests the modern distinction between
 physical processes and chemical        
processes1 or1 putting it otherwise1    
between molecular processes and atomic  
processes2 but the reader must be       
guarded against supposing that          
,anaxagoras had any such thought as this
 in mind4 ,his ultimate mixable         
particles can be compared only with the 
,daltonian atom1 not with the molecule  
of the modern physicist1 and his        
infinite1 self-powerful1 and unmixable  
particles are not comparable with       
anything but the ether of the modern    
physicist1 with which hypothetical      

substance they have many points of      
resemblance4 ,but the infinite1         
self-powerful1 and unmixed particles    
constituting thus an ether-like plenum  
which permeates all material structures1
 have also1 in the mind of ,anaxagoras1 
a function which carries them perhaps a 
stage beyond the province of the modern 
ether4 ,for these infinite1 self        
powerful1 and unmixed particles are     
imbued with1 and1 indeed1 themselves    
constitute1 what ,anaxagoras terms nous1
 a word which the modern translator has 
usually paraphrased as mind4 ,neither   
that word nor any other available one   
probably conveys an accurate idea of    
what ,anaxagoras meant to imply by the  
word nous4 ,for him the word meant not  
merely mind in the sense of receptive   
and comprehending intelligence1 but     
directive and creative intelligence as  
well4 ,again let ,anaxagoras speak for  
himself3 ,other things include a portion
 of everything1 but nous is infinite1   
and self-powerful1 and mixed with       

nothing1 but it exists alone1 itself by 
itself4 ,for if it were not by itself1  
but were mixed with anything else1 it   
would include parts of all things1 if it
 were mixed with anything2 for a portion
 of everything exists in every thing1 as
 has been said by me before1 and things 
mingled with it would prevent it from   
having power over anything in the same  
way that it does now that it is alone by
 itself4 ,for it is the most rarefied of
 all things and the purest1 and it has  
all knowledge in regard to everything   
and the greatest power2 over all that   
has life1 both greater and less1 nous   
rules4 ,and nous ruled the rotation of  
the whole1 so that it set it in rotation
 in the beginning4 ,first it began the  
rotation from a small beginning1 then   
more and more was included in the       
motion1 and yet more will be included4  
,both the mixed and the separated and   
distinct1 all things nous recognized4   
,and whatever things were to be1 and    
whatever things were1 as many as are    

now1 and whatever things shall be1 all  
these nous arranged in order2 and it    
arranged that rotation1 according to    
which now rotate stars and sun and moon 
and air and aether1 now that they are   
separated4 ,rotation itself caused the  
separation1 and the dense is separated  
from the rare1 the warm from the cold1  
the bright from the dark1 the dry from  
the moist4 ,and when nous began to set  
things in motion1 there was separation  
from everything that was in motion1 all 
this was made distinct4 ,the rotation of
 the things that were moved and made    
distinct caused them to be yet more     
distinct47#c7  ,nous1 then1 as          
,anaxagoras conceives it1 is the most   
rarefied of all things1 and the purest1 
and it has knowledge in regard to       
everything and the greatest power2 over 
all that has life1 both greater and     
less1 it rules4 ,but these are          
postulants of omnipresence and          
omniscience4 ,in other words1 nous is   
nothing less than the omnipotent        

artificer of the material universe4 ,it 
lacks nothing of the power of deity1    
save only that we are not assured that  
it created the primordial particles4    
,the creation of these particles was a  
conception that for ,anaxagoras1 as for 
the modern ,spencer1 lay beyond the     
range of imagination4 ,nous is the      
artificer1 working with uncreated       
particles4 ,back of nous and the        
particles lies1 for an ,anaxagoras as   
for a ,spencer1 the ,unknowable4 ,but   
nous itself is the equivalent of that   
universal energy of motion which science
 recognizes as operating between the    
particles of matter1 and which the      
theologist personifies as ,deity4 ,it is
 ,pantheistic deity as ,anaxagoras      
conceives it2 his may be called the     
first scientific conception of a        
non-anthropomorphic god4 ,in elaborating
 this conception ,anaxagoras proved     
himself one of the most remarkable      
scientific dreamers of antiquity4 ,to   
have substituted for the ,greek         

,pantheon of anthropomorphic deities the
 conception of a non-anthropomorphic    
immaterial and ethereal entity1 of all  
things in the world the most rarefied   
and the purest1 is to have performed a  
feat which1 considering the age and the 
environment in which it was             
accomplished1 staggers the imagination4 
,as a strictly scientific accomplishment
 the great thinker's conception of      
primordial elements contained a germ of 
the truth which was to lie dormant for  
#bbjj years1 but which then1 as modified
 and vitalized by the genius of ,dalton1
 was to dominate the new chemical       
science of the nineteenth century4 ,if  
there are intimations that the          
primordial element of ,anaxagoras and of
 ,dalton may turn out in the near future
 to be itself a compound1 there will    
still remain the yet finer particles of 
the nous of ,anaxagoras to baffle the   
most subtle analysis of which to-day's  
science gives us any pre-vision4 ,all in
 all1 then1 the work of ,anaxagoras must

 stand as that of perhaps the most      
far-seeing scientific imagination of    
pre-,socratic antiquity4   ,,leucippus  
,,and ,,democritus  ,but we must not    
leave this alluring field of speculation
 as to the nature of matter without     
referring to another scientific guess1  
which soon followed that of ,anaxagoras 
and was destined to gain even wider     
fame1 and which in modern times has been
 somewhat unjustly held to eclipse the  
glory of the other achievement4 ,we     
mean1 of course1 the atomic theory of   
,leucippus and ,democritus4 ,this theory
 reduced all matter to primordial       
elements1 called atoms 7gr atoma7       
because they are by hypothesis incapable
 of further division4 ,these atoms1     
making up the entire material universe1 
are in this theory conceived as         
qualitatively identical1 differing from 
one another only in size and perhaps in 
shape4 ,the union of different-sized    
atoms in endless combinations produces  
the diverse substances with which our   

senses make us familiar4  ,before we    
pass to a consideration of this alluring
 theory1 and particularly to a          
comparison of it with the theory of     
,anaxagoras1 we must catch a glimpse of 
the personality of the men to whom the  
theory owes its origin4 ,one of these1  
,leucippus1 presents so uncertain a     
figure as to be almost mythical4        
,indeed1 it was long questioned whether 
such a man had actually lived1 or       
whether he were not really an invention 
of his alleged disciple1 ,democritus4   
,latterday scholarship1 however1 accepts
 him as a real personage1 though knowing
 scarcely more of him than that he was  
the author of the famous theory with    
which his name was associated4 ,it is   
suggested that he was a wanderer1 like  
most philosophers of his time1 and that 
later in life he came to ,abdera1 in    
,thrace1 and through this circumstance  
became the teacher of ,democritus4 ,this
 fable answers as well as another4 ,what
 we really know is that ,democritus     

himself1 through whose writings and     
teachings the atomic theory gained      
vogue1 was born in ,abdera1 about the   
year #dfj ,b4,c4--that is to say1 just  
about the time when his great precursor1
 ,anaxagoras1 was migrating to ,athens4 
,democritus1 like most others of the    
early ,greek thinkers1 lives in         
tradition as a picturesque figure4 ,it  
is vaguely reported that he travelled   
for a time1 perhaps in the ,east and in 
,egypt1 and that then he settled down to
 spend the remainder of his life in     
,abdera4 ,whether or not he visited     
,athens in the course of his wanderings 
we do not know4 ,at ,abdera he was      
revered as a sage1 but his influence    
upon the practical civilization of the  
time was not marked4 ,he was            
pre-eminently a dreamer and a writer4   
,like his confreres of the epoch1 he    
entered all fields of thought4 ,he wrote
 voluminously1 but1 unfortunately1 his  
writings have1 for the most part1       
perished4 ,the fables and traditions of 

a later day asserted that ,democritus   
had voluntarily put out his own eyes    
that he might turn his thoughts inward  
with more concentration4 ,doubtless this
 is fiction1 yet1 as usual with such    
fictions1 it contains a germ of truth2  
for we may well suppose that the        
promulgator of the atomic theory was a  
man whose mind was attracted by the     
subtleties of thought rather than by the
 tangibilities of observation4 ,yet the 
term laughing philosopher1 which seems  
to have been universally applied to     
,democritus1 suggests a mind not        
altogether withdrawn from the world of  
practicalities4  ,so much for           
,democritus the man4 ,let us return now 
to his theory of atoms4 ,this theory1 it
 must be confessed1 made no very great  
impression upon his contemporaries4 ,it 
found an expositor1 a little later1 in  
the philosopher ,epicurus1 and later    
still the poet ,lucretius gave it       
popular expression4 ,but it seemed      
scarcely more than the dream of a       

philosopher or the vagary of a poet     
until the day when modern science began 
to penetrate the mysteries of matter4   
,when1 finally1 the researches of       
,dalton and his followers had placed the
 atomic theory on a surer footing as the
 foundation of modern chemistry1 the    
ideas of the old laughing philosopher of
 ,abdera1 which all along had been half 
derisively remembered1 were recalled    
with a new interest4 ,now it appeared   
that these ideas had curiously          
foreshadowed nineteenth-century         
knowledge4 ,it appeared that away back  
in the fifth century ,b4,c4 a man had   
dreamed out a conception of the ultimate
 nature of matter which had waited all  
these centuries for corroboration4 ,and 
now the historians of philosophy became 
more than anxious to do justice to the  
memory of ,democritus4  ,it is possible 
that this effort at poetical restitution
 has carried the enthusiast too far4    
,there is1 indeed1 a curious            
suggestiveness in the theory of         

,democritus2 there is philosophical     
allurement in his reduction of all      
matter to a single element2 it contains1
 it may be1 not merely a germ of the    
science of the nineteenth-century       
chemistry1 but perhaps the germs also of
 the yet undeveloped chemistry of the   
twentieth century4 ,yet we dare suggest 
that in their enthusiasm for the atomic 
theory of ,democritus the historians of 
our generation have done something less 
than justice to that philosopher's      
precursor1 ,anaxagoras4 ,and one        
suspects that the mere accident of a    
name has been instrumental in producing 
this result4 ,democritus called his     
primordial element an atom2 ,anaxagoras1
 too1 conceived a primordial element1   
but he called it merely a seed or thing2
 he failed to christen it distinctively4
 ,modern science adopted the word atom  
and gave it universal vogue4 ,it owed a 
debt of gratitude to ,democritus for    
supplying it the word1 but it somewhat  
overpaid the debt in too closely linking

 the new meaning of the word with its   
old original one4 ,for1 let it be       
clearly understood1 the ,daltonian atom 
is not precisely comparable with the    
atom of ,democritus4 ,the atom1 as      
,democritus conceived it1 was monistic2 
all atoms1 according to this hypothesis1
 are of the same substance2 one atom    
differs from another merely in size and 
shape1 but not at all in quality4 ,but  
the ,daltonian hypothesis conceived1 and
 nearly all the experimental efforts of 
the nineteenth century seemed to prove1 
that there are numerous classes of      
atoms1 each differing in its very       
essence from the others4  ,as the case  
stands to-day the chemist deals with    
seventy-odd substances1 which he calls  
elements4 ,each one of these substances 
is1 as he conceives it1 made up of      
elementary atoms having a unique        
personality1 each differing in quality  
from all the others4 ,as far as         
experiment has thus far safely carried  
us1 the atom of gold is a primordial    

element which remains an atom of gold   
and nothing else1 no matter with what   
other atoms it is associated4 ,so1 too1 
of the atom of silver1 or zinc1 or      
sodium--in short1 of each and every one 
of the seventy-odd elements4 ,there are1
 indeed1 as we shall see1 experiments   
that suggest the dissolution of the     
atom--that suggest1 in short1 that the  
,daltonian atom is misnamed1 being a    
structure that may1 under certain       
conditions1 be broken asunder4 ,but     
these experiments have1 as yet1 the     
warrant rather of philosophy than of    
pure science1 and to-day we demand that 
the philosophy of science shall be the  
handmaid of experiment4  ,when          
experiment shall have demonstrated that 
the ,daltonian atom is a compound1 and  
that in truth there is but a single true
 atom1 which1 combining with its fellows
 perhaps in varying numbers and in      
different special relations1 produces   
the ,daltonian atoms1 then the          
philosophical theory of monism will have

 the experimental warrant which to-day  
it lacks2 then we shall be a step nearer
 to the atom of ,democritus in one      
direction1 a step farther away in the   
other4 ,we shall be nearer1 in that the 
conception of ,democritus was1 in a     
sense1 monistic2 farther away1 in that  
all the atoms of ,democritus1 large and 
small alike1 were considered as         
permanently fixed in size4 ,democritus  
postulated all his atoms as of the same 
substance1 differing not at all in      
quality2 yet he was obliged to conceive 
that the varying size of the atoms gave 
to them varying functions which amounted
 to qualitative differences4 ,he might  
claim for his largest atom the same     
quality of substance as for his         
smallest1 but so long as he conceived   
that the large atoms1 when adjusted     
together to form a tangible substance1  
formed a substance different in quality 
from the substance which the small atoms
 would make up when similarly grouped1  
this concession amounts to the          

predication of difference of quality    
between the atoms themselves4 ,the      
entire question reduces itself virtually
 to a quibble over the word quality1 ,so
 long as one atom conceived to be       
primordial and indivisible is conceded  
to be of such a nature as necessarily to
 produce a different impression on our  
senses1 when grouped with its fellows1  
from the impression produced by other   
atoms when similarly grouped1 such      
primordial atoms do differ among        
themselves in precisely the same way for
 all practical purposes as do the       
primordial elements of ,anaxagoras4     
,the monistic conception towards which  
twentieth-century chemistry seems to be 
carrying us may perhaps show that all   
the so-called atoms are compounded of a 
single element4 ,all the true atoms     
making up that element may then properly
 be said to have the same quality1 but  
none the less will it remain true that  
the combinations of that element that go
 to make up the different ,daltonian    

atoms differ from one another in quality
 in precisely the same sense in which   
such tangible substances as gold1 and   
oxygen1 and mercury1 and diamonds differ
 from one another4 ,in the last analysis
 of the monistic philosophy1 there is   
but one substance and one quality in the
 universe4 ,in the widest view of that  
philosophy1 gold and oxygen and mercury 
and diamonds are one substance1 and1 if 
you please1 one quality4 ,but such      
refinements of analysis as this are for 
the transcendental philosopher1 and not 
for the scientist4 ,whatever the        
allurement of such reasoning1 we must   
for the purpose of science let words    
have a specific meaning1 nor must we let
 a mere word-jugglery blind us to the   
evidence of facts4 ,that was the rock on
 which ,greek science foundered2 it is  
the rock which the modern helmsman      
sometimes finds it difficult to avoid4  
,and if we mistake not1 this case of the
 atom of ,democritus is precisely a case
 in point4 ,because ,democritus said    

that his atoms did not differ in        
quality1 the modern philosopher has seen
 in his theory the essentials of monism2
 has discovered in it not merely a      
forecast of the chemistry of the        
nineteenth century1 but a forecast of   
the hypothetical chemistry of the       
future4 ,and1 on the other hand1 because
 ,anaxagoras predicted a different      
quality for his primordial elements1 the
 philosopher of our day has discredited 
the primordial element of ,anaxagoras4  
,yet if our analysis does not lead us   
astray1 the theory of ,democritus was   
not truly monistic2 his indestructible  
atoms1 differing from one another in    
size and shape1 utterly incapable of    
being changed from the form which they  
had maintained from the beginning1 were 
in reality as truly and primordially    
different as are the primordial elements
 of ,anaxagoras4 ,in other words1 the   
atom of ,democritus is nothing less than
 the primordial seed of ,anaxagoras1 a  
little more tangibly visualized and     

given a distinctive name4 ,anaxagoras   
explicitly conceived his elements as    
invisibly small1 as infinite in number1 
and as made up of an indefinite number  
of kinds--one for each distinctive      
substance in the world4 ,but precisely  
the same postulates are made of the atom
 of ,democritus4 ,these also are        
invisibly small2 these also are infinite
 in number2 these also are made up of an
 indefinite number of kinds1            
corresponding with the observed         
difference of substances in the world4  
,primitive seeds1 or atoms1 were alike  
conceived to be primordial1             
un-changeable1 and indestructible4      
,wherein then lies the difference8 ,we  
answer1 chiefly in a name2 almost solely
 in the fact that ,anaxagoras did not   
attempt to postulate the physical       
properties of the elements beyond       
stating that each has a distinctive     
personality1 while ,democritus did      
attempt to postulate these properties4  
,he1 too1 admitted that each kind of    

element has its distinctive personality1
 and he attempted to visualize and      
describe the characteristics of the     
personality4  ,thus while ,anaxagoras   
tells us nothing of his elements except 
that they differ from one another1      
,democritus postulates a difference in  
size1 imagines some elements as heavier 
and some as lighter1 and conceives even 
that the elements may be provided with  
projecting hooks1 with the aid of which 
they link themselves one with another4  
,no one to-day takes these crude        
visualizings seriously as to their      
details4 ,the sole element of truth     
which these dreamings contain1 as       
distinguishing them from the dreamings  
of ,anaxagoras1 is in the conception    
that the various atoms differ in size   
and weight4 ,here1 indeed1 is a vague   
fore-shadowing of that chemistry of form
 which began to come into prominence    
towards the close of the nineteenth     
century4 ,to have forecast even dimly   
this newest phase of chemical knowledge1

 across the abyss of centuries1 is      
indeed a feat to put ,democritus in the 
front rank of thinkers4 ,but this       
estimate should not blind us to the fact
 that the pre-vision of ,democritus was 
but a slight elaboration of a theory    
which had its origin with another       
thinker4 ,the association between       
,anaxagoras and ,democritus cannot be   
directly traced1 but it is an           
association which the historian of ideas
 should never for a moment forget4 ,if  
we are not to be misled by mere         
word-jugglery1 we shall recognize the   
founder of the atomic theory of matter  
in ,anaxagoras2 its expositors along    
slightly different lines in ,leucippus  
and ,democritus2 its re-discoverer of   
the nineteenth century in ,dalton4 ,all 
in all1 then1 just as ,anaxagoras       
preceded ,democritus in time1 so must he
 take precedence over him also as an    
inductive thinker1 who carried the use  
of the scientific imagination to its    
farthest reach4  ,an analysis of the    

theories of the two men leads to        
somewhat the same conclusion that might 
be reached from a comparison of their   
lives4 ,anaxagoras was a sceptical1     
experimental scientist1 gifted also with
 the prophetic imagination4 ,he reasoned
 always from the particular to the      
general1 after the manner of true       
induction1 and he scarcely took a step  
beyond the confines of secure induction4
 ,true scientist that he was1 he could  
content himself with postulating        
different qualities for his elements1   
without pretending to know how these    
qualities could be defined4 ,his        
elements were by hypothesis invisible1  
hence he would not attempt to visualize 
them4 ,democritus1 on the other hand1   
refused to recognize this barrier4      
,where he could not know1 he still did  
not hesitate to guess4 ,just as he      
conceived his atom of a definite form   
with a definite structure1 even so he   
conceived that the atmosphere about him 
was full of invisible spirits2 he       

accepted the current superstitions of   
his time4 ,like the average ,greeks of  
his day1 he even believed in such omens 
as those furnished by inspecting the    
entrails of a fowl4 ,these chance bits  
of biography are weather-vanes of the   
mind of ,democritus4 ,they tend to      
substantiate our conviction that        
,democritus must rank below ,anaxagoras 
as a devotee of pure science4 ,but1     
after all1 such comparisons and         
estimates as this are utterly futile4   
,the essential fact for us is that here1
 in the fifth century before our era1 we
 find put forward the most penetrating  
guess as to the constitution of matter  
that the history of ancient thought has 
to present to us4 ,in one direction1 the
 avenue of progress is barred2 there    
will be no farther step that way till we
 come down the centuries to the time of 
,dalton4   ,,hippocrates ,,and ,,greek  
,,medicine  ,these studies of the       
constitution of matter have carried us  
to the limits of the field of scientific

 imagination in antiquity2 let us now   
turn sharply and consider a department  
of science in which theory joins hands  
with practicality4 ,let us witness the  
beginnings of scientific therapeutics4  
,medicine among the early ,greeks1      
before the time of ,hippocrates1 was a  
crude mixture of religion1 necromancy1  
and mysticism4 ,temples were erected to 
the god of medicine1 aesculapius1 and   
sick persons made their way1 or were    
carried1 to these temples1 where they   
sought to gain the favor of the god by  
suitable offerings1 and learn the way to
 regain their health through remedies or
 methods revealed to them in dreams by  
the god4 ,when the patient had been thus
 cured1 he placed a tablet in the temple
 describing his sickness1 and telling by
 what method the god had cured him4 ,he 
again made suitable offerings at the    
temple1 which were sometimes in the form
 of gold or silver representations of   
the diseased organ--a gold or silver    
model of a heart1 hand1 foot1 etc4      

,nevertheless1 despite this belief in   
the supernatural1 many drugs and healing
 lotions were employed1 and the ,greek  
physicians possessed considerable skill 
in dressing wounds and bandaging4 ,but  
they did not depend upon these surgical 
dressings alone1 using with them certain
 appropriate prayers and incantations1  
recited over the injured member at the  
time of applying the dressings4  ,even  
the very early ,greeks had learned      
something of anatomy4 ,the daily contact
 with wounds and broken bones must of   
necessity lead to a crude understanding 
of anatomy in general4 ,the first ,greek
 anatomist1 however1 who is recognized  
as such1 is said to have been ,alcmaeon4
 ,he is said to have made extensive     
dissections of the lower animals1 and to
 have described many hitherto unknown   
structures1 such as the optic nerve and 
the ,eustachian canal--the small tube   
leading into the throat from the ear4   
,he is credited with many unique        
explanations of natural phenomena1 such 

as1 for example1 the explanation that   
hearing is produced by the hollow bone  
behind the ear2 for all hollow things   
are sonorous4 ,he was a rationalist1 and
 he taught that the brain is the organ  
of mind4 ,the sources of our information
 about his work1 however1 are           
unreliable4  ,democedes1 who lived in   
the sixth century ,b4,c41 is the first  
physician of whom we have any           
trustworthy history4 ,we learn from     
,herodotus that he came from ,croton to 
aegina1 where1 in recognition of his    
skill1 he was appointed medical officer 
of the city4 ,from aegina he was called 
to ,athens at an increased salary1 and  
later was in charge of medical affairs  
in several other ,greek cities4 ,he was 
finally called to ,samos by the tyrant  
,polycrates1 who reigned there from     
about #ecf to #ebb ,b4,c4 ,but on the   
death of ,polycrates1 who was murdered  
by the ,persians1 ,democedes became a   
slave4 ,his fame as a physician1        
however1 had reached the ears of the    

,persian monarch1 and shortly after his 
capture he was permitted to show his    
skill upon ,king ,darius himself4 ,the  
,persian monarch was suffering from a   
sprained ankle1 which his ,egyptian     
surgeons had been unable to cure4       
,democedes not only cured the injured   
member but used his influence in saving 
the lives of his ,egyptian rivals1 who  
had been condemned to death by the king4
  ,at another time he showed his skill  
by curing the queen1 who was suffering  
from a chronic abscess of long standing4
 ,this so pleased the monarch that he   
offered him as a reward anything he     
might desire1 except his liberty4 ,but  
the costly gifts of ,darius did not     
satisfy him so long as he remained a    
slave2 and determined to secure his     
freedom at any cost1 he volunteered to  
lead some ,persian spies into his native
 country1 promising to use his influence
 in converting some of the leading men  
of his nation to the ,persian cause4    
,laden with the wealth that had been    

heaped upon him by ,darius1 he set forth
 upon his mission1 but upon reaching his
 native city of ,croton he threw off his
 mask1 renounced his ,persian mission1  
and became once more a free ,greek4     
,while the story of ,democedes throws   
little light upon the medical practices 
of the time1 it shows that paid city    
medical officers existed in ,greece as  
early as the fifth and sixth centuries  
,b4,c4 ,even then there were different  
schools of medicine1 whose disciples    
disagreed radically in their methods of 
treating diseases2 and there were also  
specialists in certain diseases1 quacks1
 and charlatans4 ,some physicians       
depended entirely upon external lotions 
for healing all disorders2 others were  
hydrotherapeutists or bath-physicians2  
while there were a host of physicians   
who administered a great variety of     
herbs and drugs4 ,there were also       
magicians who pretended to heal by      
sorcery1 and great numbers of           
bone-setters1 oculists1 and dentists4   

,many of the wealthy physicians had     
hospitals1 or clinics1 where patients   
were operated upon and treated4 ,they   
were not hospitals in our modern        
understanding of the term1 but were more
 like dispensaries1 where patients were 
treated temporarily1 but were not       
allowed to remain for any length of     
time4 ,certain communities established  
and supported these dispensaries for the
 care of the poor4  ,but anything       
approaching a rational system of        
medicine was not established1 until     
,hippocrates of ,cos1 the father of     
medicine1 came upon the scene4 ,in an   
age that produced ,phidias1 ,lysias1    
,herodotus1 ,sophocles1 and ,pericles1  
it seems but natural that the medical   
art should find an exponent who would   
rise above superstitious dogmas and lay 
the foundation for a medical science4   
,his rejection of the supernatural alone
 stamps the greatness of his genius4    
,but1 besides this1 he introduced more  
detailed observation of diseases1 and   

demonstrated the importance that        
attaches to prognosis4  ,hippocrates was
 born at ,cos1 about #dfj ,b4,c41 but   
spent most of his life at ,larissa1 in  
,thessaly4 ,he was educated as a        
physician by his father1 and travelled  
extensively as an itinerant practitioner
 for several years4 ,his travels in     
different climates and among many       
different people undoubtedly tended to  
sharpen his keen sense of observation4  
,he was a practical physician as well as
 a theorist1 and1 withal1 a clear and   
concise writer4 ,life is short1 he says1
 opportunity fleeting1 judgment         
difficult1 treatment easy1 but treatment
 after thought is proper and profitable4
  ,his knowledge of anatomy was         
necessarily very imperfect1 and was     
gained largely from his predecessors1 to
 whom he gave full credit4 ,dissections 
of the human body were forbidden him1   
and he was obliged to confine his       
experimental researches to operations on
 the lower animals4 ,his knowledge of   

the structure and arrangement of the    
bones1 however1 was fairly accurate1 but
 the anatomy of the softer tissues1 as  
he conceived it1 was a queer jumbling   
together of blood-vessels1 muscles1 and 
tendons4 ,he does refer to nerves1 to be
 sure1 but apparently the structures    
referred to are the tendons and         
ligaments1 rather than the nerves       
themselves4 ,he was better acquainted   
with the principal organs in the        
cavities of the body1 and knew1 for     
example1 that the heart is divided into 
four cavities1 two of which he supposed 
to contain blood1 and the other two air4
  ,his most revolutionary step was his  
divorcing of the supernatural from the  
natural1 and establishing the fact that 
disease is due to natural causes and    
should be treated accordingly4 ,the     
effect of such an attitude can hardly be
 over-estimated4 ,the establishment of  
such a theory was naturally followed by 
a close observation as to the course of 
diseases and the effects of treatment4  

,to facilitate this1 he introduced the  
custom of writing down his observations 
as he made them--the clinical history of
 the case4 ,such clinical records are in
 use all over the world to-day1 and     
their importance is so obvious that it  
is almost incomprehensible that they    
should have fallen into disuse shortly  
after the time of ,hippocrates1 and not 
brought into general use again until    
almost two thousand years later4  ,but  
scarcely less important than his        
recognition of disease as a natural     
phenomenon was the importance he        
attributed to prognosis4 ,prognosis1 in 
the sense of prophecy1 was common before
 the time of ,hippocrates4 ,but         
prognosis1 as he practised it and as we 
understand it to-day1 is prophecy based 
on careful observation of the course of 
diseases--something more than           
superstitious conjecture4  ,although    
,hippocratic medicine rested on the     
belief in natural causes1 nevertheless1 
dogma and theory held an important      

place4 ,the humoral theory of disease   
was an all-important one1 and so fully  
was this theory accepted that it        
influenced the science of medicine all  
through succeeding centuries4 ,according
 to this celebrated theory there are    
four humors in the body--blood1 phlegm1 
yellow bile1 and black bile4 ,when these
 humors are mixed in exact proportions  
they constitute health2 but any         
deviations from these proportions       
produce disease4 ,in treating diseases  
the aim of the physician was to discover
 which of these humors were out of      
proportion and to restore them to their 
natural equilibrium4 ,it was in the     
methods employed in this restitution1   
rather than a disagreement about the    
humors themselves1 that resulted in the 
various schools of medicine4  ,in many  
ways the surgery of ,hippocrates showed 
a better understanding of the structure 
of the organs than of their functions4  
,some of the surgical procedures as     
described by him are followed1 with     

slight modifications1 to-day4 ,many of  
his methods were entirely lost sight of 
until modern times1 and one1 the        
treatment of dislocation of the outer   
end of the collar-bone1 was not revived 
until some time in the eighteenth       
century4  ,hippocrates1 it seems1 like  
modern physicians1 sometimes suffered   
from the ingratitude of his patients4   
,the physician visits a patient         
suffering from fever or a wound1 and    
prescribes for him1 he says2 on the next
 day1 if the patient feels worse the    
blame is laid upon the physician2 if1 on
 the other hand1 he feels better1 nature
 is extolled1 and the physician reaps no
 praise4 ,the essence of this has been  
repeated in rhyme and prose by writers  
in every age and country1 but the father
 of medicine cautions physicians against
 allowing it to influence their attitude
 towards their profession4     ,,viii4  
,,post-,,socratic ,,science ,,at        
,,athens--,,plato1 ,,aristotle1 ,,and   
,,theophrastus  ,doubtless it has been  

noticed that our earlier scientists were
 as far removed as possible from the    
limitations of specialism4 ,in point of 
fact1 in this early day1 knowledge had  
not been classified as it came to be    
later on4 ,the philosopher was1 as his  
name implied1 a lover of knowledge1 and 
he did not find it beyond the reach of  
his capacity to apply himself to all    
departments of the field of human       
investigation4 ,it is nothing strange to
 discover that ,anaximander and the     
,pythagoreans and ,anaxagoras have      
propounded theories regarding the       
structure of the cosmos1 the origin and 
development of animals and man1 and the 
nature of matter itself4 ,nowadays1 so  
enormously involved has become the mass 
of mere facts regarding each of these   
departments of knowledge that no one man
 has the temerity to attempt to master  
them all4 ,but it was different in those
 days of beginnings4 ,then the methods  
of observation were still crude1 and it 
was quite the custom for a thinker of   

forceful personality to find an eager   
following among disciples who never     
thought of putting his theories to the  
test of experiment4 ,the great lesson   
that true science in the last resort    
depends upon observation and            
measurement1 upon compass and balance1  
had not yet been learned1 though here   
and there a thinker like ,anaxagoras had
 gained an inkling of it4  ,for the     
moment1 indeed1 there in ,attica1 which 
was now1 thanks to that outburst of     
,periclean culture1 the centre of the   
world's civilization1 the trend of      
thought was to take quite another       
direction4 ,the very year which saw the 
birth of ,democritus at ,abdera1 and of 
,hippocrates1 marked also the birth1 at 
,athens1 of another remarkable man1     
whose influence it would scarcely be    
possible to over-estimate4 ,this man was
 ,socrates4 ,the main facts of his      
history are familiar to every one4 ,it  
will be recalled that ,socrates spent   
his entire life in ,athens1 mingling    

everywhere with the populace2           
haranguing1 so the tradition goes1 every
 one who would listen2 inculcating moral
 lessons1 and finally incurring the     
disapprobation of at least a voting     
majority of his fellow-citizens4 ,he    
gathered about him a company of         
remarkable men with ,plato at their     
head1 but this could not save him from  
the disapprobation of the multitudes1 at
 whose hands he suffered death1 legally 
administered after a public trial4 ,the 
facts at command as to certain customs  
of the ,greeks at this period make it   
possible to raise a question as to      
whether the alleged corruption of youth1
 with which ,socrates was charged1 may  
not have had a different implication    
from what posterity has preferred to    
ascribe to it4 ,but this thought1 almost
 shocking to the modern mind and seeming
 altogether sacrilegious to most        
students of ,greek philosophy1 need not 
here detain us2 neither have we much    
concern in the present connection with  

any part of the teaching of the martyred
 philosopher4 ,for the historian of     
metaphysics1 ,socrates marks an epoch1  
but for the historian of science he is a
 much less consequential figure4        
,similarly regarding ,plato1 the        
aristocratic ,athenian who sat at the   
feet of ,socrates1 and through whose    
writings the teachings of the master    
found widest currency4 ,some students of
 philosophy find in ,plato the greatest 
thinker and writer of all time47#a7 ,the
 student of science must recognize in   
him a thinker whose point of view was   
essentially non-scientific2 one who     
tended always to reason from the general
 to the particular rather than from the 
particular to the general4 ,plato's     
writings covered almost the entire field
 of thought1 and his ideas were         
presented with such literary charm that 
successive generations of readers turned
 to them with unflagging interest1 and  
gave them wide currency through copies  
that finally preserved them to our own  

time4 ,thus we are not obliged in his   
case1 as we are in the case of every    
other ,greek philosopher1 to estimate   
his teachings largely from hearsay      
evidence4 ,plato himself speaks to us   
directly4 ,it is true1 the literary form
 which he always adopted1 namely1 the   
dialogue1 does not give quite the same  
certainty as to when he is expressing   
his own opinions that a more direct     
narrative would have given2 yet1 in the 
main1 there is little doubt as to the   
tenor of his own opinions--except1      
indeed1 such doubt as always attaches to
 the philosophical reasoning of the     
abstract thinker4  ,what is chiefly     
significant from our present standpoint 
is that the great ethical teacher had no
 significant message to give the world  
regarding the physical sciences4 ,he    
apparently had no sharply defined       
opinions as to the mechanism of the     
universe2 no clear conception as to the 
origin or development of organic beings2
 no tangible ideas as to the problems of

 physics2 no favorite dreams as to the  
nature of matter4 ,virtually his back   
was turned on this entire field of      
thought4 ,he was under the sway of those
 innate ideas which1 as we have urged1  
were among the earliest inductions of   
science4 ,but he never for a moment     
suspected such an origin for these      
ideas4 ,he supposed his conceptions of  
being1 his standards of ethics1 to lie  
back of all experience2 for him they    
were the most fundamental and most      
dependable of facts4 ,he criticised     
,anaxagoras for having tended to deduce 
general laws from observation4 ,as we   
moderns see it1 such criticism is the   
highest possible praise4 ,it is a       
criticism that marks the distinction    
between the scientist who is also a     
philosopher and the philosopher who has 
but a vague notion of physical science4 
,plato seemed1 indeed1 to realize the   
value of scientific investigation2 he   
referred to the astronomical studies of 
the ,egyptians and ,chaldeans1 and spoke

 hopefully of the results that might    
accrue were such studies to be taken up 
by that ,greek mind which1 as he justly 
conceived1 had the power to vitalize and
 enrich all that it touched4 ,but he    
told here of what he would have others  
do1 not of what he himself thought of   
doing4 ,his voice was prophetic1 but it 
stimulated no worker of his own time4   
,plato himself had travelled widely4 ,it
 is a familiar legend that he lived for 
years in ,egypt1 endeavoring there to   
penetrate the mysteries of ,egyptian    
science4 ,it is said even that the      
rudiments of geometry which he acquired 
there influenced all his later          
teachings4 ,but be that as it may1 the  
historian of science must recognize in  
the founder of the ,academy a moral     
teacher and metaphysical dreamer and    
sociologist1 but not1 in the modern     
acceptance of the term1 a scientist4    
,those wider phases of biological       
science which find their expression in  
metaphysics1 in ethics1 in political    

economy1 lie without our present scope2 
and for the development of those        
subjects with which we are more directly
 concerned1 ,plato1 like his master1 has
 a negative significance4   ,,aristotle 
7#chd-cbb ,b4,c47  ,when we pass to that
 third great ,athenian teacher1         
,aristotle1 the case is far different4  
,here was a man whose name was to be    
received as almost a synonym for ,greek 
science for more than a thousand years  
after his death4 ,all through the       
,middle ,ages his writings were to be   
accepted as virtually the last word     
regarding the problems of nature4 ,we   
shall see that his followers actually   
preferred his mandate to the testimony  
of their own senses4 ,we shall see1     
further1 that modern science progressed 
somewhat in proportion as it overthrew  
the ,aristotelian dogmas4 ,but the      
traditions of seventeen or eighteen     
centuries are not easily set aside1 and 
it is perhaps not too much to say that  
the name of ,aristotle stands1 even in  

our own time1 as vaguely representative 
in the popular mind of all that was     
highest and best in the science of      
antiquity4 ,yet1 perhaps1 it would not  
be going too far to assert that         
something like a reversal of this       
judgment would be nearer the truth4     
,aristotle did1 indeed1 bring together a
 great mass of facts regarding animals  
in his work on natural history1 which1  
being preserved1 has been deemed to     
entitle its author to be called the     
father of zoology4 ,but there is no     
reason to suppose that any considerable 
portion of this work contained matter   
that was novel1 or recorded observations
 that were original with ,aristotle2 and
 the classifications there outlined are 
at best but a vague foreshadowing of the
 elaboration of the science4 ,such as it
 is1 however1 the natural history stands
 to the credit of the ,stagirite4 ,he   
must be credited1 too1 with a clear     
enunciation of one most important       
scientific doctrine--namely1 the        

doctrine of the spherical figure of the 
earth4 ,we have already seen that this  
theory originated with the ,pythagorean 
philosophers out in ,italy4 ,we have    
seen1 too1 that the doctrine had not    
made its way in ,attica in the time of  
,anaxagoras4 ,but in the intervening    
century it had gained wide currency1    
else so essentially conservative a      
thinker as ,aristotle would scarcely    
have accepted it4 ,he did accept it1    
however1 and gave the doctrine clearest 
and most precise expression4 ,here are  
his words37#b7   ,as to the figure of   
the earth it must necessarily be        
spherical4444 ,if it were not so1 the   
eclipses of the moon would not have such
 sections as they have4 ,for in the     
configurations in the course of a month 
the deficient part takes all different  
shapes2 it is straight1 and concave1 and
 convex2 but in eclipses it always has  
the line of divisions convex2 wherefore1
 since the moon is eclipsed in          
consequence of the interposition of the 

earth1 the periphery of the earth must  
be the cause of this by having a        
spherical form4 ,and again1 from the    
appearance of the stars it is clear1 not
 only that the earth is round1 but that 
its size is not very large2 for when we 
make a small removal to the south or the
 north1 the circle of the horizon       
becomes palpably different1 so that the 
stars overhead undergo a great change1  
and are not the same to those that      
travel in the north and to the south4   
,for some stars are seen in ,egypt or at
 ,cyprus1 but are not seen in the       
countries to the north of these2 and the
 stars that in the north are visible    
while they make a complete circuit1     
there undergo a setting4 ,so that from  
this it is manifest1 not only that the  
form of the earth is round1 but also    
that it is a part of a not very large   
sphere2 for otherwise the difference    
would not be so obvious to persons      
making so small a change of place4      
,wherefore we may judge that those      

persons who connect the region in the   
neighborhood of the pillars of ,hercules
 with that towards ,india1 and who      
assert that in this way the sea is one1 
do not assert things very improbable4   
,they confirm this conjecture moreover  
by the elephants1 which are said to be  
of the same species towards each        
extreme2 as if this circumstance was a  
consequence of the conjunction of the   
extremes4 ,the mathematicians who try to
 calculate the measure of the           
circumference1 make it amount to four   
hundred thousand stadia2 whence we      
collect that the earth is not only      
spherical1 but is not large compared    
with the magnitude of the other stars4  
,but in giving full meed of praise to   
,aristotle for the promulgation of this 
doctrine of the sphericity of the earth1
 it must unfortunately be added that the
 conservative philosopher paused without
 taking one other important step4 ,he   
could not accept1 but1 on the contrary1 
he expressly repudiated1 the doctrine of

 the earth's motion4 ,we have seen that 
this idea also was a part of the        
,pythagorean doctrine1 and we shall have
 occasion to dwell more at length on    
this point in a succeeding chapter4 ,it 
has even been contended by some critics 
that it was the adverse conviction of   
the ,peripatetic philosopher which1 more
 than any other single influence1 tended
 to retard the progress of the true     
doctrine regarding the mechanism of the 
heavens4 ,aristotle accepted the        
sphericity of the earth1 and that       
doctrine became a commonplace of        
scientific knowledge1 and so continued  
throughout classical antiquity4 ,but    
,aristotle rejected the doctrine of the 
earth's motion1 and that doctrine1      
though promulgated actively by a few    
contemporaries and immediate successors 
of the ,stagirite1 was then doomed to   
sink out of view for more than a        
thousand years4 ,if it be a correct     
assumption that the influence of        
,aristotle was1 in a large measure1     

responsible for this result1 then we    
shall perhaps not be far astray in      
assuming that the great founder of the  
,peripatetic school was1 on the whole1  
more instrumental in retarding the      
progress of astronomical science that   
any other one man that ever lived4  ,the
 field of science in which ,aristotle   
was pre-eminently a pathfinder is       
zoology4 ,his writings on natural       
history have largely been preserved1 and
 they constitute by far the most        
important contribution to the subject   
that has come down to us from antiquity4
 ,they show us that ,aristotle had      
gained possession of the widest range of
 facts regarding the animal kingdom1    
and1 what is far more important1 had    
attempted to classify these facts4 ,in  
so doing he became the founder of       
systematic zoology4 ,aristotle's        
classification of the animal kingdom was
 known and studied throughout the       
,middle ,ages1 and1 in fact1 remained in
 vogue until superseded by that of      

,cuvier in the nineteenth century4 ,it  
is not to be supposed that all the terms
 of ,aristotle's classification         
originated with him4 ,some of the       
divisions are too patent to have escaped
 the observation of his predecessors4   
,thus1 for example1 the distinction     
between birds and fishes as separate    
classes of animals is so obvious that it
 must appeal to a child or to a savage4 
,but the efforts of ,aristotle extended1
 as we shall see1 to less patent        
generalizations4 ,at the very outset1   
his grand division of the animal kingdom
 into blood-bearing and bloodless       
animals implies a very broad and        
philosophical conception of the entire  
animal kingdom4 ,the modern physiologist
 does not accept the classification1    
inasmuch as it is now known that        
colorless fluids perform the functions  
of blood for all the lower organisms4   
,but the fact remains that ,aristotle's 
grand divisions correspond to the grand 
divisions of the ,lamarckian            

system--vertebrates and                 
invertebrates--which every one now      
accepts4 ,aristotle1 as we have said1   
based his classification upon           
observation of the blood2 ,lamarck was  
guided by a study of the skeleton4 ,the 
fact that such diverse points of view   
could direct the observer towards the   
same result gives1 inferentially1 a     
suggestive lesson in what the modern    
physiologist calls the homologies of    
parts of the organism4  ,aristotle      
divides his so-called blood-bearing     
animals into five classes3 7#a7         
,four-footed animals that bring forth   
their young alive2 7#b7 birds2 7#c7     
egg-laying four-footed animals          
7including what modern naturalists call 
reptiles and amphibians72 7#d7 whales   
and their allies2 7#e7 fishes4 ,this    
classification1 as will be observed1 is 
not so very far afield from the modern  
divisions into mammals1 birds1 reptiles1
 amphibians1 and fishes4 ,that          
,aristotle should have recognized the   

fundamental distinction between fishes  
and the fish-like whales1 dolphins1 and 
porpoises proves the far from           
superficial character of his studies4   
,aristotle knew that these animals      
breathe by means of lungs and that they 
produce living young4 ,he recognized1   
therefore1 their affinity with his first
 class of animals1 even if he did not1  
like the modern naturalist1 consider    
these affinities close enough to justify
 bringing the two types together into a 
single class4  ,the bloodless animals   
were also divided by ,aristotle into    
five classes--namely3 7#a7 ,cephalopoda 
7the octopus1 cuttle-fish1 etc472 7#b7  
weak-shelled animals 7crabs1 etc472 7#c7
 insects and their allies 7including    
various forms1 such as spiders and      
centipedes1 which the modern classifier 
prefers to place by themselves72 7#d7   
hard-shelled animals 7clams1 oysters1   
snails1 etc472 7#e7 a conglomerate group
 of marine forms1 including star-fish1  
sea-urchins1 and various anomalous forms

 that were regarded as linking the      
animal to the vegetable worlds4 ,this   
classification of the lower forms of    
animal life continued in vogue until    
,cuvier substituted for it his famous   
grouping into articulates1 mollusks1 and
 radiates2 which grouping in turn was in
 part superseded later in the nineteenth
 century4  ,what ,aristotle did for the 
animal kingdom his pupil1 ,theophrastus1
 did in some measure for the vegetable  
kingdom4 ,theophrastus1 however1 was    
much less a classifier than his master1 
and his work on botany1 called ,the     
,natural ,history of ,development1 pays 
comparatively slight attention to       
theoretical questions4 ,it deals largely
 with such practicalities as the making 
of charcoal1 of pitch1 and of resin1 and
 the effects of various plants on the   
animal organism when taken as foods or  
as medicines4 ,in this regard the work  
of ,theophrastus1 is more nearly akin to
 the natural history of the famous      
,roman compiler1 ,pliny4 ,it remained1  

however1 throughout antiquity as the    
most important work on its subject1 and 
it entitles ,theophrastus to be called  
the father of botany4 ,theophrastus     
deals also with the mineral kingdom     
after much the same fashion1 and here   
again his work is the most notable that 
was produced in antiquity4     ,,ix4    
,,greek ,,science ,,of ,,the            
,,alexandrian ,,or ,,hellenistic        
,,period  ,we are entering now upon the 
most important scientific epoch of      
antiquity4 ,when ,aristotle and         
,theophrastus passed from the scene1    
,athens ceased to be in any sense the   
scientific centre of the world4 ,that   
city still retained its reminiscent     
glory1 and cannot be ignored in the     
history of culture1 but no great        
scientific leader was ever again to be  
born or to take up his permanent abode  
within the confines of ,greece proper4  
,with almost cataclysmic suddenness1 a  
new intellectual centre appeared on the 
south shore of the ,mediterranean4 ,this

 was the city of ,alexandria1 a city    
which ,alexander the ,great had founded 
during his brief visit to ,egypt1 and   
which became the capital of ,ptolemy    
,soter when he chose ,egypt as his      
portion of the dismembered empire of the
 great ,macedonian4 ,ptolemy had been   
with his master in the ,east1 and was   
with him in ,babylonia when he died4 ,he
 had therefore come personally in       
contact with ,babylonian civilization1  
and we cannot doubt that this had a most
 important influence upon his life1 and 
through him upon the new civilization of
 the ,west4 ,in point of culture1       
,alexandria must be regarded as the     
successor of ,babylon1 scarcely less    
directly than of ,greece4 ,following the
 ,babylonian model1 ,ptolemy erected a  
great museum and began collecting a     
library4 ,before his death it was said  
that he had collected no fewer than two 
hundred thousand manuscripts4 ,he had   
gathered also a company of great        
teachers and founded a school of science

 which1 as has just been said1 made     
,alexandria the culture-centre of the   
world4  ,athens in the day of her prime 
had known nothing quite like this4 ,such
 private citizens as ,aristotle are     
known to have had libraries1 but there  
were no great public collections of     
books in ,athens1 or in any other part  
of the ,greek domain1 until ,ptolemy    
founded his famous library4 ,as is well 
known1 such libraries had existed in    
,babylonia for thousands of years4 ,the 
character which the ,ptolemaic epoch    
took on was no doubt due to ,babylonian 
influence1 but quite as much to the     
personal experience of ,ptolemy himself 
as an explorer in the ,far ,east4 ,the  
marvellous conquering journey of        
,alexander had enormously widened the   
horizon of the ,greek geographer1 and   
stimulated the imagination of all ranks 
of the people1 ,it was but natural1     
then1 that geography and its parent     
science astronomy should occupy the     
attention of the best minds in this     

succeeding epoch4 ,in point of fact1    
such a company of star-gazers and       
earth-measurers came upon the scene in  
this third century ,b4,c4 as had never  
before existed anywhere in the world4   
,the whole trend of the time was towards
 mechanics4 ,it was as if the greatest  
thinkers had squarely faced about from  
the attitude of the mystical            
philosophers of the preceding century1  
and had set themselves the task of      
solving all the mechanical riddles of   
the universe1 ,they no longer troubled  
themselves about problems of being and  
becoming2 they gave but little heed to  
metaphysical subtleties2 they demanded  
that their thoughts should be gauged by 
objective realities4 ,hence there arose 
a succession of great geometers1 and    
their conceptions were applied to the   
construction of new mechanical          
contrivances on the one hand1 and to the
 elaboration of theories of sidereal    
mechanics on the other4  ,the wonderful 
company of men who performed the feats  

that are about to be recorded did not   
all find their home in ,alexandria1 to  
be sure2 but they all came more or less 
under the ,alexandrian influence4 ,we   
shall see that there are two other      
important centres2 one out in ,sicily1  
almost at the confines of the ,greek    
territory in the west2 the other in     
,asia ,minor1 notably on the island of  
,samos--the island which1 it will be    
recalled1 was at an earlier day the     
birthplace of ,pythagoras4 ,but whereas 
in the previous century colonists from  
the confines of the civilized world came
 to ,athens1 now all eyes turned towards
 ,alexandria1 and so improved were the  
facilities for communication that no    
doubt the discoveries of one coterie of 
workers were known to all the others    
much more quickly than had ever been    
possible before4 ,we learn1 for example1
 that the studies of ,aristarchus of    
,samos were definitely known to         
,archimedes of ,syracuse1 out in        
,sicily4 ,indeed1 as we shall see1 it is

 through a chance reference preserved in
 one of the writings of ,archimedes that
 one of the most important speculations 
of ,aristarchus is made known to us4    
,this illustrates sufficiently the      
intercommunication through which the    
thought of the ,alexandrian epoch was   
brought into a single channel4 ,we no   
longer1 as in the day of the earlier    
schools of ,greek philosophy1 have      
isolated groups of thinkers4 ,the       
scientific drama is now played out upon 
a single stage2 and if we pass1 as we   
shall in the present chapter1 from      
,alexandria to ,syracuse and from       
,syracuse to ,samos1 the shift of scenes
 does no violence to the dramatic       
unities4  ,notwithstanding the number of
 great workers who were not properly    
,alexandrians1 none the less the epoch  
is with propriety termed ,alexandrian4  
,not merely in the third century ,b4,c41
 but throughout the lapse of at least   
four succeeding centuries1 the city of  
,alexander and the ,ptolemies continued 

to hold its place as the undisputed     
culture-centre of the world4 ,during    
that period ,rome rose to its pinnacle  
of glory and began to decline1 without  
ever challenging the intellectual       
supremacy of the ,egyptian city4 ,we    
shall see1 in a later chapter1 that the 
,alexandrian influences were passed on  
to the ,mohammedan conquerors1 and every
 one is aware that when ,alexandria was 
finally overthrown its place was taken  
by another ,greek city1 ,byzantium or   
,constantinople4 ,but that transfer did 
not occur until ,alexandria had enjoyed 
a longer period of supremacy as an      
intellectual centre than had perhaps    
ever before been granted to any city1   
with the possible exception of ,babylon4
   ,,euclid 7,,about #cjj ,b4,c47  ,our 
present concern is with that first      
wonderful development of scientific     
activity which began under the first    
,ptolemy1 and which presents1 in the    
course of the first century of          
,alexandrian influence1 the most        

remarkable coterie of scientific workers
 and thinkers that antiquity produced4  
,the earliest group of these new leaders
 in science had at its head a man whose 
name has been a household word ever     
since4 ,this was ,euclid1 the father of 
systematic geometry4 ,tradition has     
preserved to us but little of the       
personality of this remarkable teacher2 
but1 on the other hand1 his most        
important work has come down to us in   
its entirety4 ,the ,elements of         
,geometry1 with which the name of       
,euclid is associated in the mind of    
every school-boy1 presented the chief   
propositions of its subject in so simple
 and logical a form that the work       
remained a textbook everywhere for more 
than two thousand years4 ,indeed it is  
only now beginning to be superseded4 ,it
 is not twenty years since ,english     
mathematicians could deplore the fact   
that1 despite certain rather obvious    
defects of the work of ,euclid1 no      
better textbook than this was available4

 ,euclid's work1 of course1 gives       
expression to much knowledge that did   
not originate with him4 ,we have already
 seen that several important            
propositions of geometry had been       
developed by ,thales1 and one by        
,pythagoras1 and that the rudiments of  
the subject were at least as old as     
,egyptian civilization4 ,precisely how  
much ,euclid added through his own      
investigations cannot be ascertained4   
,it seems probable that he was a        
diffuser of knowledge rather than an    
originator1 but as a great teacher his  
fame is secure4 ,he is credited with an 
epigram which in itself might insure him
 perpetuity of fame3 ,there is no royal 
road to geometry1 was his answer to     
,ptolemy when that ruler had questioned 
whether the ,elements might not be      
simplified4 ,doubtless this1 like most  
similar good sayings1 is apocryphal2 but
 whoever invented it has made the world 
his debtor4   ,,herophilus ,,and        
,,erasistratus  ,the catholicity of     

,ptolemy's tastes led him1 naturally    
enough1 to cultivate the biological no  
less than the physical sciences4 ,in    
particular his influence permitted an   
epochal advance in the field of         
medicine4 ,two anatomists became famous 
through the investigations they were    
permitted to make under the patronage of
 the enlightened ruler4 ,these earliest 
of really scientific investigators of   
the mechanism of the human body were    
named ,herophilus and ,erasistratus4    
,these two anatomists gained their      
knowledge by the dissection of human    
bodies 7theirs are the first records    
that we have of such practices71 and    
,king ,ptolemy himself is said to have  
been present at some of these           
dissections4 ,they were the first to    
discover that the nerve-trunks have     
their origin in the brain and spinal    
cord1 and they are credited also with   
the discovery that these nerve-trunks   
are of two different kinds--one to      
convey motor1 and the other sensory     

impulses4 ,they discovered1 described1  
and named the coverings of the brain4   
,the name of ,herophilus is still       
applied by anatomists1 in honor of the  
discoverer1 to one of the sinuses or    
large canals that convey the venous     
blood from the head4 ,herophilus also   
noticed and described four cavities or  
ventricles in the brain1 and reached the
 conclusion that one of these ventricles
 was the seat of the soul--a belief     
shared until comparatively recent times 
by many physiologists4 ,he made also a  
careful and fairly accurate study of the
 anatomy of the eye1 a greatly improved 
the old operation for cataract4  ,with  
the increased knowledge of anatomy came 
also corresponding advances in surgery1 
and many experimental operations are    
said to have been performed upon        
condemned criminals who were handed over
 to the surgeons by the ,ptolemies4     
,while many modern writers have         
attempted to discredit these assertions1
 it is not improbable that such         

operations were performed4 ,in an age   
when human life was held so cheap1 and  
among a people accustomed to torturing  
condemned prisoners for comparatively   
slight offences1 it is not unlikely that
 the surgeons were allowed to inflict   
perhaps less painful tortures in the    
cause of science4 ,furthermore1 we know 
that condemned criminals were sometimes 
handed over to the medical profession to
 be operated upon and killed in whatever
 way they thought best even as late as  
the sixteenth century4 ,tertullian7#a7  
probably exaggerates1 however1 when he  
puts the number of such victims in      
,alexandria at six hundred4  ,had       
,herophilus and ,erasistratus been as   
happy in their deductions as to the     
functions of the organs as they were in 
their knowledge of anatomy1 the science 
of medicine would have been placed upon 
a very high plane even in their time4   
,unfortunately1 however1 they not only  
drew erroneous inferences as to the     
functions of the organs1 but also       

disagreed radically as to what functions
 certain organs performed1 and how      
diseases should be treated1 even when   
agreeing perfectly on the subject of    
anatomy itself4 ,their contribution to  
the knowledge of the scientific         
treatment of diseases holds no such     
place1 therefore1 as their anatomical   
investigations4  ,half a century after  
the time of ,herophilus there appeared a
 ,greek physician1 ,heraclides1 whose   
reputation in the use of drugs far      
surpasses that of the anatomists of the 
,alexandrian school4 ,his reputation has
 been handed down through the centuries 
as that of a physician1 rather than a   
surgeon1 although in his own time he was
 considered one of the great surgeons of
 the period4 ,heraclides belonged to the
 ,empiric school1 which rejected anatomy
 as useless1 depending entirely on the  
use of drugs4 ,he is thought to have    
been the first physician to point out   
the value of opium in certain painful   
diseases4 ,his prescription of this drug

 for certain cases of sleeplessness1    
spasm1 cholera1 and colic1 shows that   
his use of it was not unlike that of the
 modern physician in certain cases2 and 
his treatment of fevers1 by keeping the 
patient's head cool and facilitating the
 secretions of the body1 is still       
recognized as good practice4 ,he        
advocated a free use of liquids in      
quenching the fever patient's thirst--a 
recognized therapeutic measure to-day1  
but one that was widely condemned a     
century ago4   ,,archimedes ,,of        
,,syracuse ,,and ,,the ,,foundation ,,of
 ,,mechanics  ,we do not know just when 
,euclid died1 but as he was at the      
height of his fame in the time of       
,ptolemy ,i41 whose reign ended in the  
year #bhe ,b4,c41 it is hardly probable 
that he was still living when a young   
man named ,archimedes came to           
,alexandria to study4 ,archimedes was   
born in the ,greek colony of ,syracuse1 
on the island of ,sicily1 in the year   
#bhg ,b4,c4 ,when he visited ,alexandria

 he probably found ,apollonius of       
,perga1 the pupil of ,euclid1 at the    
head of the mathematical school there4  
,just how long ,archimedes remained at  
,alexandria is not known4 ,when he had  
satisfied his curiosity or completed his
 studies1 he returned to ,syracuse and  
spent his life there1 chiefly under the 
patronage of ,king ,hiero1 who seems    
fully to have appreciated his abilities4
  ,archimedes was primarily a           
mathematician4 ,left to his own devices1
 he would probably have devoted his     
entire time to the study of geometrical 
problems4 ,but ,king ,hiero had         
discovered that his protege had         
wonderful mechanical ingenuity1 and he  
made good use of this discovery4 ,under 
stress of the king's urgings1 the       
philosopher was led to invent a great   
variety of mechanical contrivances1 some
 of them most curious ones4 ,antiquity  
credited him with the invention of more 
than forty machines1 and it is these1   
rather than his purely mathematical     

discoveries1 that gave his name popular 
vogue both among his contemporaries and 
with posterity4 ,every one has heard of 
the screw of ,archimedes1 through which 
the paradoxical effect was produced of  
making water seem to flow up hill4 ,the 
best idea of this curious mechanism is  
obtained if one will take in hand an    
ordinary corkscrew1 and imagine this    
instrument to be changed into a hollow  
tube1 retaining precisely the same shape
 but increased to some feet in length   
and to a proportionate diameter4 ,if one
 will hold the corkscrew in a slanting  
direction and turn it slowly to the     
right1 supposing that the point dips up 
a portion of water each time it         
revolves1 one can in imagination follow 
the flow of that portion of water from  
spiral to spiral1 the water always      
running downward1 of course1 yet        
paradoxically being lifted higher and   
higher towards the base of the          
corkscrew1 until finally it pours out   
7in the actual ,archimedes' tube7 at the

 top4 ,there is another form of the     
screw in which a revolving spiral blade 
operates within a cylinder1 but the     
principle is precisely the same4 ,with  
either form water may be lifted1 by the 
mere turning of the screw1 to any       
desired height4 ,the ingenious mechanism
 excited the wonder of the              
contemporaries of ,archimedes1 as well  
it might4 ,more efficient devices have  
superseded it in modern times1 but it   
still excites the admiration of all who 
examine it1 and its effects seem as     
paradoxical as ever4  ,some other of the
 mechanisms of ,archimedes have been    
made known to successive generations of 
readers through the pages of ,polybius  
and ,plutarch4 ,these are the devices   
through which ,archimedes aided ,king   
,hiero to ward off the attacks of the   
,roman general ,marcellus1 who in the   
course of the second ,punic war laid    
siege to ,syracuse4  ,plutarch1 in his  
life of ,marcellus1 describes the       
,roman's attack and ,archimedes' defence

 in much detail4 ,incidentally he tells 
us also how ,archimedes came to make the
 devices that rendered the siege so     
famous3  ,marcellus himself1 with       
threescore galleys of five rowers at    
every bank1 well armed and full of all  
sorts of artillery and fireworks1 did   
assault by sea1 and rowed hard to the   
wall1 having made a great engine and    
device of battery1 upon eight galleys   
chained together1 to batter the wall3   
trusting in the great multitude of his  
engines of battery1 and to all such     
other necessary provision as he had for 
wars1 as also in his own reputation4    
,but ,archimedes made light account of  
all his devices1 as indeed they were    
nothing comparable to the engines       
himself had invented4 ,this inventive   
art to frame instruments and engines    
7which are called mechanical1 or        
organical1 so highly commended and      
esteemed of all sorts of people7 was    
first set forth by ,architas1 and by    
,eudoxus3 partly to beautify a little   

the science of geometry by this         
fineness1 and partly to prove and       
confirm by material examples and        
sensible instruments1 certain           
geometrical conclusions1 where of a man 
cannot find out the conceivable         
demonstrations by enforced reasons and  
proofs4 ,as that conclusion which       
instructeth one to search out two lines 
mean proportional1 which cannot be      
proved by reason demonstrative1 and yet 
notwithstanding is a principle and an   
accepted ground for many things which   
are contained in the art of portraiture4
 ,both of them have fashioned it to the 
workmanship of certain instruments1     
called mesolabes or mesographs1 which   
serve to find these mean lines          
proportional1 by drawing certain curve  
lines1 and overthwart and oblique       
sections4 ,but after that ,plato was    
offended with them1 and maintained      
against them1 that they did utterly     
corrupt and disgrace1 the worthiness and
 excellence of geometry1 making it to   

descend from things not comprehensible  
and without body1 unto things sensible  
and material1 and to bring it to a      
palpable substance1 where the vile and  
base handiwork of man is to be employed3
 since that time1 ,i say1 handicraft1 or
 the art of engines1 came to be         
separated from geometry1 and being long 
time despised by the philosophers1 it   
came to be one of the warlike arts4     
,but ,archimedes having told ,king      
,hiero1 his kinsman and friend1 that it 
was possible to remove as great a weight
 as he would1 with as little strength as
 he listed to put to it3 and boasting   
himself thus 7as they report of him7 and
 trusting to the force of his reasons1  
wherewith he proved this conclusion1    
that if there were another globe of     
earth1 he was able to remove this of    
ours1 and pass it over to the other3    
,king ,hiero wondering to hear him1     
required him to put his device in       
execution1 and to make him see by       
experience1 some great or heavy weight  

removed1 by little force4 ,so           
,archimedes caught hold with a book of  
one of the greatest carects1 or hulks of
 the king 7that to draw it to the shore 
out of the water required a marvellous  
number of people to go about it1 and was
 hardly to be done so7 and put a great  
number of men more into her1 than her   
ordinary burden3 and he himself sitting 
alone at his ease far off1 without any  
straining at all1 drawing the end of an 
engine with many wheels and pulleys1    
fair and softly with his hand1 made it  
come as gently and smoothly to him1 as  
it had floated in the sea4 ,the king    
wondering to see the sight1 and knowing 
by proof the greatness of his art2 be   
prayed him to make him some engines1    
both to assault and defend1 in all      
manner of sieges and assaults4 ,so      
,archimedes made him many engines1 but  
,king ,hiero never occupied any of them1
 because he reigned the most part of his
 time in peace without any wars4 ,but   
this provision and munition of engines1 

served the ,syracusan's turn            
marvellously at that time3 and not only 
the provision of the engines ready made1
 but also the engineer and work-master  
himself1 that had invented them4  ,now  
the ,syracusans1 seeing themselves      
assaulted by the ,romans1 both by sea   
and by land1 were marvellously          
perplexed1 and could not tell what to   
say1 they were so afraid3 imagining it  
was impossible for them to withstand so 
great an army4 ,but when ,archimedes    
fell to handling his engines1 and to set
 them at liberty1 there flew in the air 
infinite kinds of shot1 and marvellous  
great stones1 with an incredible noise  
and force on the sudden1 upon the       
footmen that came to assault the city by
 land1 bearing down1 and tearing in     
pieces all those which came against     
them1 or in what place soever they      
lighted1 no earthly body being able to  
resist the violence of so heavy a       
weight3 so that all their ranks were    
marvellously disordered4 ,and as for the

 galleys that gave assault by sea1 some 
were sunk with long pieces of timber    
like unto the yards of ships1 whereto   
they fasten their sails1 which were     
suddenly blown over the walls with force
 of their engines into their galleys1   
and so sunk them by their over great    
weight4   ,polybius describes what was  
perhaps the most important of these     
contrivances1 which was1 he tells us1 a 
band of iron1 hanging by a chain from   
the beak of a machine1 which was used in
 the following manner4 ,the person who1 
like a pilot1 guided the beak1 having   
let fall the hand1 and catched hold of  
the prow of any vessel1 drew down the   
opposite end of the machine that was on 
the inside of the walls4 ,and when the  
vessel was thus raised erect upon its   
stem1 the machine itself was held       
immovable2 but1 the chain being suddenly
 loosened from the beak by the means of 
pulleys1 some of the vessels were thrown
 upon their sides1 others turned with   
the bottom upwards2 and the greatest    

part1 as the prows were plunged from a  
considerable height into the sea1 were  
filled with water1 and all that were on 
board thrown into tumult and disorder4  
,marcellus was in no small degree       
embarrassed1 ,polybius continues1 when  
he found himself encountered in every   
attempt by such resistance4 ,he         
perceived that all his efforts were     
defeated with loss2 and were even       
derided by the enemy4 ,but1 amidst all  
the anxiety that he suffered1 he could  
not help jesting upon the inventions of 
,archimedes4 ,this man1 said he1 employs
 our ships as buckets to draw water3 and
 boxing about our sackbuts1 as if they  
were unworthy to be associated with him1
 drives them from his company with      
disgrace4 ,such was the success of the  
siege on the side of the sea4           
,subsequently1 however1 ,marcellus took 
the city by strategy1 and ,archimedes   
was killed1 contrary1 it is said1 to the
 express orders of ,marcellus4 ,syracuse
 being taken1 says ,plutarch1 nothing   

grieved ,marcellus more than the loss of
 ,archimedes4 ,who1 being in his study  
when the city was taken1 busily seeking 
out by himself the demonstration of some
 geometrical proposition which he had   
drawn in figure1 and so earnestly       
occupied therein1 as he neither saw nor 
heard any noise of enemies that ran up  
and down the city1 and much less knew it
 was taken3 he wondered when he saw a   
soldier by him1 that bade him go with   
him to ,marcellus4 ,notwithstanding1 he 
spake to the soldier1 and bade him tarry
 until he had done his conclusion1 and  
brought it to demonstration3 but the    
soldier being angry with his answer1    
drew out his sword and killed him4      
,others say1 that the ,roman soldier    
when he came1 offered the sword's point 
to him1 to kill him3 and that           
,archimedes when he saw him1 prayed him 
to hold his hand a little1 that he might
 not leave the matter he looked for     
imperfect1 without demonstration4 ,but  
the soldier making no reckoning of his  

speculation1 killed him presently4 ,it  
is reported a third way also1 saying    
that certain soldiers met him in the    
streets going to ,marcellus1 carrying   
certain mathematical instruments in a   
little pretty coffer1 as dials for the  
sun1 spheres1 and angles1 wherewith they
 measure the greatness of the body of   
the sun by view3 and they supposing he  
had carried some gold or silver1 or     
other precious jewels in that little    
coffer1 slew him for it4 ,but it is most
 certain that ,marcellus was            
marvellously sorry for his death1 and   
ever after hated the villain that slew  
him1 as a cursed and execrable person3  
and how he had made also marvellous much
 afterwards of ,archimedes' kinsmen for 
his sake4  ,we are further indebted to  
,plutarch for a summary of the character
 and influence of ,archimedes1 and for  
an interesting suggestion as to the     
estimate which the great philosopher put
 upon the relative importance of his own
 discoveries4 ,notwithstanding          

,archimedes had such a great mind1 and  
was so profoundly learned1 having hidden
 in him the only treasure and secrets of
 geometrical inventions3 as he would    
never set forth any book how to make all
 these warlike engines1 which won him at
 that time the fame and glory1 not of   
man's knowledge1 but rather of divine   
wisdom4 ,but he esteeming all kind of   
handicraft and invention to make        
engines1 and generally all manner of    
sciences bringing common commodity by   
the use of them1 to be but vile1        
beggarly1 and mercenary dross3 employed 
his wit and study only to write things1 
the beauty and subtlety whereof were not
 mingled anything at all with necessity4
 ,for all that he hath written1 are     
geometrical propositions1 which are     
without comparison of any other writings
 whatsoever3 because the subject where  
of they treat1 doth appear by           
demonstration1 the maker gives them the 
grace and the greatness1 and the        
demonstration proving it so exquisitely1

 with wonderful reason and facility1 as 
it is not repugnable4 ,for in all       
geometry are not to be found more       
profound and difficult matters written1 
in more plain and simple terms1 and by  
more easy principles1 than those which  
he hath invented4 ,now some do impute   
this1 to the sharpness of his wit and   
understanding1 which was a natural gift 
in him3 others do refer it to the       
extreme pains he took1 which made these 
things come so easily from him1 that    
they seemed as if they had been no      
trouble to him at all4 ,for no man      
living of himself can devise the        
demonstration of his propositions1 what 
pains soever he take to seek it3 and yet
 straight so soon as he cometh to       
declare and open it1 every man then     
imagineth with himself he could have    
found it out well enough1 he can then so
 plainly make demonstration of the thing
 he meaneth to show4 ,and therefore that
 methinks is likely to be true1 which   
they write of him3 that he was so       

ravished and drunk with the sweet       
enticements of this siren1 which as it  
were lay continually with him1 as he    
forgot his meat and drink1 and was      
careless otherwise of himself1 that     
oftentimes his servants got him against 
his will to the baths to wash and anoint
 him3 and yet being there1 he would ever
 be drawing out of the geometrical      
figures1 even in the very imbers of the 
chimney4 ,and while they were anointing 
of him with oils and sweet savours1 with
 his finger he did draw lines upon his  
naked body3 so far was he taken from    
himself1 and brought into an ecstasy or 
trance1 with the delight he had in the  
study of geometry1 and truly ravished   
with the love of the ,muses4 ,but       
amongst many notable things he devised1 
it appeareth1 that he most esteemed the 
demonstration of the proportion between 
the cylinder 7to wit1 the round column7 
and the sphere or globe contained in the
 same3 for he prayed his kinsmen and    
friends1 that after his death they would

 put a cylinder upon his tomb1          
containing a massy sphere1 with an      
inscription of the proportion1 whereof  
the continent exceedeth the thing       
contained47#b7  ,it should be observed  
that neither ,polybius nor ,plutarch    
mentions the use of burning-glasses in  
connection with the siege of ,syracuse1 
nor indeed are these referred to by any 
other ancient writer of authority4      
,nevertheless1 a story gained credence  
down to a late day to the effect that   
,archimedes had set fire to the fleet of
 the enemy with the aid of concave      
mirrors4 ,an experiment was made by ,sir
 ,isaac ,newton to show the possibility 
of a phenomenon so well in accord with  
the genius of ,archimedes1 but the      
silence of all the early authorities    
makes it more than doubtful whether any 
such expedient was really adopted4  ,it 
will be observed that the chief         
principle involved in all these         
mechanisms was a capacity to transmit   
great power through levers and pulleys1 

and this brings us to the most important
 field of the ,syracusan philosopher's  
activity4 ,it was as a student of the   
lever and the pulley that ,archimedes   
was led to some of his greatest         
mechanical discoveries4 ,he is even     
credited with being the discoverer of   
the compound pulley4 ,more likely he was
 its developer only1 since the principle
 of the pulley was known to the old     
,babylonians1 as their sculptures       
testify4 ,but there is no reason to     
doubt the general outlines of the story 
that ,archimedes astounded ,king ,hiero 
by proving that1 with the aid of        
multiple pulleys1 the strength of one   
man could suffice to drag the largest   
ship from its moorings4  ,the property  
of the lever1 from its fundamental      
principle1 was studied by him1 beginning
 with the self-evident fact that equal  
bodies at the ends of the equal arms of 
a rod1 supported on its middle point1   
will balance each other2 or1 what       
amounts to the same thing stated in     

another way1 a regular cylinder of      
uniform matter will balance at its      
middle point4 ,from this starting-point 
he elaborated the subject on such clear 
and satisfactory principles that they   
stand to-day practically unchanged and  
with few additions4 ,from all his       
studies and experiments he finally      
formulated the principle that bodies    
will be in equilibrio when their        
distance from the fulcrum or point of   
support is inversely as their weight4   
,he is credited with having summed up   
his estimate of the capabilities of the 
lever with the well-known expression1   
,give me a fulcrum on which to rest or a
 place on which to stand1 and ,i will   
move the earth4  ,but perhaps the feat  
of all others that most appealed to the 
imagination of his contemporaries1 and  
possibly also the one that had the      
greatest bearing upon the position of   
,archimedes as a scientific discoverer1 
was the one made familiar through the   
tale of the crown of ,hiero4 ,this      

crown1 so the story goes1 was supposed  
to be made of solid gold1 but ,king     
,hiero for some reason suspected the    
honesty of the jeweller1 and desired to 
know if ,archimedes could devise a way  
of testing the question without injuring
 the crown4 ,greek imagination seldom   
spoiled a story in the telling1 and in  
this case the tale was allowed to take  
on the most picturesque of phases4 ,the 
philosopher1 we are assured1 pondered   
the problem for a long time without     
succeeding1 but one day as he stepped   
into a bath1 his attention was attracted
 by the overflow of water4 ,a new train 
of ideas was started in his             
ever-receptive brain4 ,wild with        
enthusiasm he sprang from the bath1 and1
 forgetting his robe1 dashed along the  
streets of ,syracuse1 shouting3 ,eureka6
 ,eureka6 7,i have found it67 ,the      
thought that had come into his mind was 
this3 ,that any heavy substance must    
have a bulk proportionate to its weight2
 that gold and silver differ in weight1 

bulk for bulk1 and that the way to test 
the bulk of such an irregular object as 
a crown was to immerse it in water4 ,the
 experiment was made4 ,a lump of pure   
gold of the weight of the crown was     
immersed in a certain receptacle filled 
with water1 and the overflow noted4     
,then a lump of pure silver of the same 
weight was similarly immersed2 lastly   
the crown itself was immersed1 and of   
course--for the story must not lack its 
dramatic sequel--was found bulkier than 
its weight of pure gold4 ,thus the      
genius that could balk warriors and     
armies could also foil the wiles of the 
silversmith4  ,whatever the truth of    
this picturesque narrative1 the fact    
remains that some1 such experiments as  
these must have paved the way for       
perhaps the greatest of all the studies 
of ,archimedes--those that relate to the
 buoyancy of water4 ,leaving the field  
of fable1 we must now examine these with
 some precision4 ,fortunately1 the      
writings of ,archimedes himself are     

still extant1 in which the results of   
his remarkable experiments are related1 
so we may present the results in the    
words of the discoverer4  ,here they    
are3 ,first3 ,the surface of every      
coherent liquid in a state of rest is   
spherical1 and the centre of the sphere 
coincides with the centre of the earth4 
,second3 ,a solid body which1 bulk for  
bulk1 is of the same weight as a liquid1
 if immersed in the liquid will sink so 
that the surface of the body is even    
with the surface of the liquid1 but will
 not sink deeper4 ,third3 ,any solid    
body which is lighter1 bulk for bulk1   
than a liquid1 if placed in the liquid  
will sink so deep as to displace the    
mass of liquid equal in weight to       
another body4 ,fourth3 ,if a body which 
is lighter than a liquid is forcibly    
immersed in the liquid1 it will be      
pressed upward with a force             
corresponding to the weight of a like   
volume of water1 less the weight of the 
body itself4 ,fifth3 ,solid bodies      

which1 bulk for bulk1 are heavier than a
 liquid1 when immersed in the liquid    
sink to the bottom1 but become in the   
liquid as much lighter as the weight of 
the displaced water itself differs from 
the weight of the solid4 ,these         
propositions are not difficult to       
demonstrate1 once they are conceived1   
but their discovery1 combined with the  
discovery of the laws of statics already
 referred to1 may justly be considered  
as proving ,archimedes the most         
inventive experimenter of antiquity4    
,curiously enough1 the discovery which  
,archimedes himself is said to have     
considered the most important of all his
 innovations is one that seems much less
 striking4 ,it is the answer to the     
question1 ,what is the relation in bulk 
between a sphere and its circumscribing 
cylinder8 ,archimedes finds that the    
ratio is simply two to three4 ,we are   
not informed as to how he reached his   
conclusion1 but an obvious method would 
be to immerse a ball in a cylindrical   

cup4 ,the experiment is one which any   
one can make for himself1 with          
approximate accuracy1 with the aid of a 
tumbler and a solid rubber ball or a    
billiard-ball of just the right size4   
,another geometrical problem which      
,archimedes solved was the problem as to
 the size of a triangle which has equal 
area with a circle2 the answer being1 a 
triangle having for its base the        
circumference of the circle and for its 
altitude the radius4 ,archimedes solved 
also the problem of the relation of the 
diameter of the circle to its           
circumference2 his answer being a close 
approximation to the familiar #c4adaf1  
which every tyro in geometry will recall
 as the equivalent of pi4  ,numerous    
other of the studies of ,archimedes     
having reference to conic sections1     
properties of curves and spirals1 and   
the like1 are too technical to be       
detailed here4 ,the extent of his       
mathematical knowledge1 however1 is     
suggested by the fact that he computed  

in great detail the number of grains of 
sand that would be required to cover the
 sphere of the sun's orbit1 making      
certain hypothetical assumptions as to  
the size of the earth and the distance  
of the sun for the purposes of argument4
 ,mathematicians find his computation   
peculiarly interesting because it       
evidences a crude conception of the idea
 of logarithms4 ,from our present       
stand-point1 the paper in which this    
calculation is contained has            
considerable interest because of its    
assumptions as to celestial mechanics4  
,thus ,archimedes starts out with the   
preliminary assumption that the         
circumference of the earth is less than 
three million stadia4 ,it must be       
understood that this assumption is      
purely for the sake of argument4        
,archimedes expressly states that he    
takes this number because it is ten     
times as large as the earth has been    
supposed to be by certain investigators4
 ,here1 perhaps1 the reference is to    

,eratosthenes1 whose measurement of the 
earth we shall have occasion to revert  
to in a moment4 ,continuing1 ,archimedes
 asserts that the sun is larger than the
 earth1 and the earth larger than the   
moon4 ,in this assumption1 he says1 he  
is following the opinion of the majority
 of astronomers4 ,in the third place1   
,archimedes assumes that the diameter of
 the sun is not more than thirty times  
greater than that of the moon4 ,here he 
is probably basing his argument upon    
another set of measurements of          
,aristarchus1 to which1 also1 we shall  
presently refer more at length4 ,in     
reality1 his assumption is very far from
 the truth1 since the actual diameter of
 the sun1 as we now know1 is something  
like four hundred times that of the     
moon4 ,fourth1 the circumference of the 
sun is greater than one side of the     
thousand-faced figure inscribed in its  
orbit4 ,the measurement1 it is expressly
 stated1 is based on the measurements of
 ,aristarchus1 who makes the diameter of

 the sun #a_/agj of its orbit4          
,archimedes adds1 however1 that he      
himself has measured the angle and that 
it appears to him to be less than       
#a_/afd1 and greater than #a_/bjj part  
of the orbit4 ,that is to say1 reduced  
to modern terminology1 he places the    
limit of the sun's apparent size between
 thirty-three minutes and twenty-seven  
minutes of arc4 ,as the real diameter is
 thirty-two minutes1 this calculation is
 surprisingly exact1 considering the    
implements then at command4 ,but the    
honor of first making it must be given  
to ,aristarchus and not to ,archimedes4 
,we need not follow ,archimedes to the  
limits of his incomprehensible numbers  
of sand-grains4 ,the calculation is     
chiefly remarkable because it was made  
before the introduction of the so-called
 ,arabic numerals had simplified        
mathematical calculations4 ,it will be  
recalled that the ,greeks used letters  
for numerals1 and1 having no cipher1    
they soon found themselves in           

difficulties when large numbers were    
involved4 ,the ,roman system of numerals
 simplified the matter somewhat1 but the
 beautiful simplicity of the decimal    
system did not come into vogue until the
 ,middle ,ages1 as we shall see4        
,notwithstanding the difficulties1      
however1 ,archimedes followed out his   
calculations to the piling up of        
bewildering numbers1 which the modern   
mathematician finds to be the consistent
 outcome of the problem he had set      
himself4  ,but it remains to notice the 
most interesting feature of this        
document in which the calculation of the
 sand-grains is contained4 ,it was known
 to me1 says ,archimedes1 that most     
astronomers understand by the expression
 'world' 7universe7 a ball of which the 
centre is the middle point of the earth1
 and of which the radius is a straight  
line between the centre of the earth and
 the sun4 ,archimedes himself appears to
 accept this opinion of the             
majority1--it at least serves as well as

 the contrary hypothesis for the purpose
 of his calculation1--but he goes on to 
say3 ,aristarchus of ,samos1 in his     
writing against the astronomers1 seeks  
to establish the fact that the world is 
really very different from this4 ,he    
holds the opinion that the fixed stars  
and the sun are immovable and that the  
earth revolves in a circular line about 
the sun1 the sun being at the centre of 
this circle4 ,this remarkable bit of    
testimony establishes beyond question   
the position of ,aristarchus of ,samos  
as the ,copernicus of antiquity4 ,we    
must make further inquiry as to the     
teachings of the man who had gained such
 a remarkable insight into the true     
system of the heavens4   ,,aristarchus  
,,of ,,samos1 ,,the ,,copernicus ,,of   
,,antiquity  ,it appears that           
,aristarchus was a contemporary of      
,archimedes1 but the exact dates of his 
life are not known4 ,he was actively    
engaged in making astronomical          
observations in ,samos somewhat before  

the middle of the third century ,b4,c42 
in other words1 just at the time when   
the activities of the ,alexandrian      
school were at their height4            
,hipparchus1 at a later day1 was enabled
 to compare his own observations with   
those made by ,aristarchus1 and1 as we  
have just seen1 his work was well known 
to so distant a contemporary as         
,archimedes4 ,yet the facts of his life 
are almost a blank for us1 and of his   
writings only a single one has been     
preserved4 ,that one1 however1 is a most
 important and interesting paper on the 
measurements of the sun and the moon4   
,unfortunately1 this paper gives us no  
direct clew as to the opinions of       
,aristarchus concerning the relative    
positions of the earth and sun4 ,but the
 testimony of ,archimedes as to this is 
unequivocal1 and this testimony is      
supported by other rumors in themselves 
less authoritative4  ,in contemplating  
this astronomer of ,samos1 then1 we are 
in the presence of a man who had solved 

in its essentials the problem of the    
mechanism of the solar system4 ,it      
appears from the words of ,archimedes   
that ,aristarchus2 had propounded his   
theory in explicit writings4            
,unquestionably1 then1 he held to it as 
a positive doctrine1 not as a mere vague
 guess4 ,we shall show1 in a moment1 on 
what grounds he based his opinion4 ,had 
his teaching found vogue1 the story of  
science would be very different from    
what it is4 ,we should then have no tale
 to tell of a ,copernicus coming upon   
the scene fully seventeen hundred years 
later with the revolutionary doctrine   
that our world is not the centre of the 
universe4 ,we should not have to tell of
 the persecution of a ,bruno or of a    
,galileo for teaching this doctrine in  
the seventeenth century of an era which 
did not begin till two hundred years    
after the death of ,aristarchus4 ,but1  
as we know1 the teaching of the         
astronomer of ,samos did not win its    
way4 ,the old conservative geocentric   

doctrine1 seemingly so much more in     
accordance with the every-day           
observations of mankind1 supported by   
the majority of astronomers with the    
,peripatetic philosophers at their head1
 held its place4 ,it found fresh        
supporters presently among the later    
,alexandrians1 and so fully eclipsed the
 heliocentric view that we should       
scarcely know that view had even found  
an advocate were it not for here and    
there such a chance record as the       
phrases we have just quoted from        
,archimedes4 ,yet1 as we now see1 the   
heliocentric doctrine1 which we know to 
be true1 had been thought out and       
advocated as the correct theory of      
celestial mechanics by at least one     
worker of the third century ,b4,c4 ,such
 an idea1 we may be sure1 did not spring
 into the mind of its originator except 
as the culmination of a long series of  
observations and inferences4 ,the       
precise character of the evolution we   
perhaps cannot trace1 but its broader   

outlines are open to our observation1   
and we may not leave so important a     
topic without at least briefly noting   
them4  ,fully to understand the theory  
of ,aristarchus1 we must go back a      
century or two and recall that as long  
ago as the time of that other great     
native of ,samos1 ,pythagoras1 the      
conception had been reached that the    
earth is in motion4 ,we saw1 in dealing 
with ,pythagoras1 that we could not be  
sure as to precisely what he himself    
taught1 but there is no question that   
the idea of the world's motion became   
from an early day a so-called           
,pythagorean doctrine4 ,while all the   
other philosophers1 so far as we know1  
still believed that the world was flat1 
the ,pythagoreans out in ,italy taught  
that the world is a sphere and that the 
apparent motions of the heavenly bodies 
are really due to the actual motion of  
the earth itself4 ,they did not1        
however1 vault to the conclusion that   
this true motion of the earth takes     

place in the form of a circuit about the
 sun4 ,instead of that1 they conceived  
the central body of the universe to be a
 great fire1 invisible from the earth1  
because the inhabited side of the       
terrestrial ball was turned away from   
it4 ,the sun1 it was held1 is but a     
great mirror1 which reflects the light  
from the central fire4 ,sun and earth   
alike revolve about this great fire1    
each in its own orbit4 ,between the     
earth and the central fire there was1   
curiously enough1 supposed to be an     
invisible earthlike body which was given
 the name of ,anticthon1 or             
counter-earth4 ,this body1 itself       
revolving about the central fire1 was   
supposed to shut off the central light  
now and again from the sun or from the  
moon1 and thus to account for certain   
eclipses for which the shadow of the    
earth did not seem responsible4 ,it was1
 perhaps1 largely to account for such   
eclipses that the counter-earth was     
invented4 ,but it is supposed that there

 was another reason4 ,the ,pythagoreans 
held that there is a peculiar sacredness
 in the number ten4 ,just as the        
,babylonians of the early day and the   
,hegelian philosophers of a more recent 
epoch saw a sacred connection between   
the number seven and the number of      
planetary bodies1 so the ,pythagoreans  
thought that the universe must be       
arranged in accordance with the number  
ten4 ,their count of the heavenly       
bodies1 including the sphere of the     
fixed stars1 seemed to show nine1 and   
the counter-earth supplied the missing  
body4  ,the precise genesis and         
development of this idea cannot now be  
followed1 but that it was prevalent     
about the fifth century ,b4,c4 as a     
,pythagorean doctrine cannot be         
questioned4 ,anaxagoras also is said to 
have taken account of the hypothetical  
counter-earth in his explanation of     
eclipses2 though1 as we have seen1 he   
probably did not accept that part of the
 doctrine which held the earth to be a  

sphere4 ,the names of ,philolaus and    
,heraclides have been linked with       
certain of these ,pythagorean doctrines4
 ,eudoxus1 too1 who1 like the others1   
lived in ,asia ,minor in the fourth     
century ,b4,c41 was held to have made   
special studies of the heavenly spheres 
and perhaps to have taught that the     
earth moves4 ,so1 too1 ,nicetas must be 
named among those whom rumor credited   
with having taught that the world is in 
motion4 ,in a word1 the evidence1 so far
 as we can garner it from the remaining 
fragments1 tends to show that all along1
 from the time of the early             
,pythagoreans1 there had been an        
undercurrent of opinion in the          
philosophical world which questioned the
 fixity of the earth2 and it would seem 
that the school of thinkers who tended  
to accept the revolutionary view centred
 in ,asia ,minor1 not far from the early
 home of the founder of the ,pythagorean
 doctrines4 ,it was not strange1 then1  
that the man who was finally to carry   

these new opinions to their logical     
conclusion should hail from ,samos4     
,but what was the support which         
observation could give to this new1     
strange conception that the heavenly    
bodies do not in reality move as they   
seem to move1 but that their apparent   
motion is due to the actual revolution  
of the earth8 ,it is extremely difficult
 for any one nowadays to put himself in 
a mental position to answer this        
question4 ,we are so accustomed to      
conceive the solar system as we know it 
to be1 that we are wont to forget how   
very different it is from what it seems4
 ,yet one needs but to glance up at the 
sky1 and then to glance about one at the
 solid earth1 to grant1 on a moment's   
reflection1 that the geocentric idea is 
of all others the most natural2 and that
 to conceive the sun as the actual      
,centre of the solar system is an idea  
which must look for support to some     
other evidence than that which ordinary 
observation can give4 ,such was the view

 of most of the ancient philosophers1   
and such continued to be the opinion of 
the majority of mankind long after the  
time of ,copernicus4 ,we must not forget
 that even so great an observing        
astronomer as ,tycho ,brahe1 so late as 
the seventeenth century1 declined to    
accept the heliocentric theory1 though  
admitting that all the planets except   
the earth revolve about the sun4 ,we    
shall see that before the ,alexandrian  
school lost its influence a geocentric  
scheme had been evolved which fully     
explained all the apparent motions of   
the heavenly bodies4 ,all this1 then1   
makes us but wonder the more that the   
genius of an ,aristarchus could give    
precedence to scientific induction as   
against the seemingly clear evidence of 
the senses4  ,what1 then1 was the line  
of scientific induction that led        
,aristarchus to this wonderful goal8    
,fortunately1 we are able to answer that
 query1 at least in part4 ,aristarchus  
gained his evidence through some        

wonderful measurements4 ,first1 he      
measured the disks of the sun and the   
moon4 ,this1 of course1 could in itself 
give him no clew to the distance of     
these bodies1 and therefore no clew as  
to their relative size2 but in          
attempting to obtain such a clew he hit 
upon a wonderful yet altogether simple  
experiment4 ,it occurred to him that    
when the moon is precisely              
dichotomized--that is to say1 precisely 
at the half-the line of vision from the 
earth to the moon must be precisely at  
right angles with the line of light     
passing from the sun to the moon4 ,at   
this moment1 then1 the imaginary lines  
joining the sun1 the moon1 and the      
earth1 make a right angle triangle4 ,but
 the properties of the right-angle      
triangle had long been studied and were 
well under stood4 ,one acute angle of   
such a triangle determines the figure of
 the triangle itself4 ,we have already  
seen that ,thales1 the very earliest of 
the ,greek philosophers1 measured the   

distance of a ship at sea by the        
application of this principle4 ,now     
,aristarchus sights the sun in place of 
,thales' ship1 and1 sighting the moon at
 the same time1 measures the angle and  
establishes the shape of his right-angle
 triangle4 ,this does not tell him the  
distance of the sun1 to be sure1 for he 
does not know the length of his         
base-line--that is to say1 of the line  
between the moon and the earth4 ,but it 
does establish the relation of that     
base-line to the other lines of the     
triangle2 in other words1 it tells him  
the distance of the sun in terms of the 
moon's distance4 ,as ,aristarchus       
strikes the angle1 it shows that the sun
 is eighteen times as distant as the    
moon4 ,now1 by comparing the apparent   
size of the sun with the apparent size  
of the moon--which1 as we have seen1    
,aristarchus has already measured--he is
 able to tell us that1 the sun is more  
than #ehcb times1 and less than #hjjj   
times larger than the moon2 though his  

measurements1 taken by themselves1 give 
no clew to the actual bulk of either    
body4 ,these conclusions1 be it         
understood1 are absolutely valid        
inferences--nay1 demonstrations--from   
the measurements involved1 provided only
 that these measurements have been      
correct4 ,unfortunately1 the angle of   
the triangle we have just seen measured 
is exceedingly difficult to determine   
with accuracy1 while at the same time1  
as a moment's reflection will show1 it  
is so large an angle that a very slight 
deviation from the truth will greatly   
affect the distance at which its line   
joins the other side of the triangle4   
,then again1 it is virtually impossible 
to tell the precise moment when the moon
 is at half1 as the line it gives is not
 so sharp that we can fix it with       
absolute accuracy4 ,there is1 moreover1 
another element of error due to the     
refraction of light by the earth's      
atmosphere4 ,the experiment was probably
 made when the sun was near the horizon1

 at which time1 as we now know1 but as  
,aristarchus probably did not suspect1  
the apparent displacement of the sun's  
position is considerable2 and this      
displacement1 it will be observed1 is in
 the direction to lessen the angle in   
question4  ,in point of fact1           
,aristarchus estimated the angle at     
eighty-seven degrees4 ,had his          
instrument been more precise1 and had he
 been able to take account of all the   
elements of error1 he would have found  
it eighty-seven degrees and fifty-two   
minutes4 ,the difference of measurement 
seems slight2 but it sufficed to make   
the computations differ absurdly from   
the truth4 ,the sun is really not merely
 eighteen times but more than two       
hundred times the distance of the moon1 
as ,wendelein discovered on repeating   
the experiment of ,aristarchus about two
 thousand years later4 ,yet this        
discrepancy does not in the least take  
away from the validity of the method    
which ,aristarchus employed4 ,moreover1 

his conclusion1 stated in general terms1
 was perfectly correct3 the sun is many 
times more distant than the moon and    
vastly larger than that body4 ,granted1 
then1 that the moon is1 as ,aristarchus 
correctly believed1 considerably less in
 size than the earth1 the sun must be   
enormously larger than the earth2 and   
this is the vital inference which1 more 
than any other1 must have seemed to     
,aristarchus to confirm the suspicion   
that the sun and not the earth is the   
centre of the planetary system4 ,it     
seemed to him inherently improbable that
 an enormously large body like the sun  
should revolve about a small one such as
 the earth4 ,and again1 it seemed       
inconceivable that a body so distant as 
the sun should whirl through space so   
rapidly as to make the circuit of its   
orbit in twenty-four hours4 ,but1 on the
 other hand1 that a small body like the 
earth should revolve about the gigantic 
sun seemed inherently probable4 ,this   
proposition granted1 the rotation of the

 earth on its axis follows as a         
necessary consequence in explanation of 
the seeming motion of the stars4 ,here1 
then1 was the heliocentric doctrine     
reduced to a virtual demonstration by   
,aristarchus of ,samos1 somewhere about 
the middle of the third century ,b4,c4  
,it must be understood that in following
 out the steps of reasoning by which we 
suppose ,aristarchus to have reached so 
remarkable a conclusion1 we have to some
 extent guessed at the processes of     
thought-development2 for no line of     
explication written by the astronomer   
himself on this particular point has    
come down to us4 ,there does exist1     
however1 as we have already stated1 a   
very remarkable treatise by ,aristarchus
 on the ,size and ,distance of the ,sun 
and the ,moon1 which so clearly suggests
 the methods of reasoning of the great  
astronomer1 and so explicitly cites the 
results of his measurements1 that we    
cannot well pass it by without quoting  
from it at some length4 ,it is certainly

 one of the most remarkable scientific  
documents of antiquity4 ,as already     
noted1 the heliocentric doctrine is not 
expressly stated here4 ,it seems to be  
tacitly implied throughout1 but it is   
not a necessary consequence of any of   
the propositions expressly stated4      
,these propositions have to do with     
certain observations and measurements   
and what ,aristarchus believes to be    
inevitable deductions from them1 and he 
perhaps did not wish to have these      
deductions challenged through           
associating them with a theory which his
 contemporaries did not accept4 ,in a   
word1 the paper of ,aristarchus is a    
rigidly scientific document unvitiated  
by association with any theorizings that
 are not directly germane to its central
 theme4 ,the treatise opens with certain
 hypotheses as follows3  ,first4 ,the   
moon receives its light from the sun4   
,second4 ,the earth may be considered as
 a point and as the centre of the orbit 
of the moon4  ,third4 ,when the moon    

appears to us dichotomized it offers to 
our view a great circle 7or actual      
meridian7 of its circumference which    
divides the illuminated part from the   
dark part4  ,fourth4 ,when the moon     
appears dichotomized its distance from  
the sun is less than a quarter of the   
circumference 7of its orbit7 by a       
thirtieth part of that quarter4  ,that  
is to say1 in modern terminology1 the   
moon at this time lacks three degrees   
7one thirtieth of ninety degrees7 of    
being at right angles with the line of  
the sun as viewed from the earth2 or1   
stated otherwise1 the angular distance  
of the moon from the sun as viewed from 
the earth is at this time eighty-seven  
degrees--this being1 as we have already 
observed1 the fundamental measurement   
upon which so much depends4 ,we may     
fairly suppose that some previous paper 
of ,aristarchus's has detailed the      
measurement which here is taken for     
granted1 yet which of course could      
depend solely on observation4  ,fifth4  

,the diameter of the shadow 7cast by the
 earth at the point where the moon's    
orbit cuts that shadow when the moon is 
eclipsed7 is double the diameter of the 
moon4  ,here again a knowledge of       
previously established measurements is  
taken for granted2 but1 indeed1 this is 
the case throughout the treatise4       
,sixth4 ,the arc subtended in the sky by
 the moon is a fifteenth part of a sign 
of the zodiac2 that is to say1 since    
there are twenty-four1 signs in the     
zodiac1 one-fifteenth of one            
twenty-fourth1 or in modern terminology1
 one degree of arc4 ,this is            
,aristarchus's measurement of the moon  
to which we have already referred when  
speaking of the measurements of         
,archimedes4  ,if we admit these six    
hypotheses1 ,aristarchus continues1 it  
follows that the sun is more than       
eighteen times more distant from the    
earth than is the moon1 and that it is  
less than twenty times more distant1 and
 that the diameter of the sun bears a   

corresponding relation to the diameter  
of the moon2 which is proved by the     
position of the moon when dichotomized4 
,but the ratio of the diameter of the   
sun to that of the earth is greater than
 nineteen to three and less than        
forty-three to six4 ,this is            
demonstrated by the relation of the     
distances1 by the position 7of the moon7
 in relation to the earth's shadow1 and 
by the fact that the arc subtended by   
the moon is a fifteenth part of a sign4 
,aristarchus follows with nineteen      
propositions intended to elucidate his  
hypotheses and to demonstrate his       
various contentions4 ,these show a      
singularly clear grasp of geometrical   
problems and an altogether correct      
conception of the general relations as  
to size and position of the earth1 the  
moon1 and the sun4 ,his reasoning has to
 do largely with the shadow cast by the 
earth and by the moon1 and it           
presupposes a considerable knowledge of 
the phenomena of eclipses4 ,his first   

proposition is that two equal spheres   
may always be circumscribed in a        
cylinder2 two unequal spheres in a cone 
of which the apex is found on the side  
of the smaller sphere2 and a straight   
line joining the centres of these       
spheres is perpendicular to each of the 
two circles made by the contact of the  
surface of the cylinder or of the cone  
with the spheres4  ,it will be observed 
that ,aristarchus has in mind here the  
moon1 the earth1 and the sun as spheres 
to be circumscribed within a cone1 which
 cone is made tangible and measurable by
 the shadows cast by the non-luminous   
bodies2 since1 continuing1 he clearly   
states in proposition nine1 that when   
the sun is totally eclipsed1 an observer
 on the earth's surface is at an apex of
 a cone comprising the moon and the sun4
 ,various propositions deal with other  
relations of the shadows which need not 
detain us since they are not            
fundamentally important1 and we may pass
 to the final conclusions of            

,aristarchus1 as reached in his         
propositions ten to nineteen4  ,now1    
since 7proposition ten7 the diameter of 
the sun is more than eighteen times and 
less than twenty times greater than that
 of the moon1 it follows 7proposition   
eleven7 that the bulk of the sun is to  
that of the moon in ratio1 greater than 
#ehcb to #a1 and less than #hjjj to #a4 
,proposition sixteen4 ,the diameter of  
the sun is to the diameter of the earth 
in greater proportion than nineteen to  
three1 and less than forty-three to six4
  ,proposition seventeen4 ,the bulk of  
the sun is to that of the earth in      
greater proportion than #fhei to #bg1   
and less than #gi1ejg to #baf4          
,proposition eighteen4 ,the diameter of 
the earth is to the diameter of the moon
 in greater proportion than #ajh to #dc 
and less than #fj to #ai4  ,proposition 
nineteen4 ,the bulk of the earth is to  
that of the moon in greater proportion  
than #a1bei1gab to #gi1ejg and less than
 #bj1jjj to #fhei4  ,such then are the  

more important conclusions of this very 
remarkable paper--a paper which seems to
 have interest to the successors of     
,aristarchus generation after           
generation1 since this alone of all the 
writings of the great astronomer has    
been preserved4 ,how widely the exact   
results of the measurements of          
,aristarchus1 differ from the truth1 we 
have pointed out as we progressed4 ,but 
let it be repeated that this detracts   
little from the credit of the astronomer
 who had such clear and correct         
conceptions of the relations of the     
heavenly bodies and who invented such   
correct methods of measurement4 ,let it 
be particularly observed1 however1 that 
all the conclusions of ,aristarchus are 
stated in relative terms4 ,he nowhere   
attempts to estimate the precise size of
 the earth1 of the moon1 or of the sun1 
or the actual distance of one of these  
bodies from another4 ,the obvious reason
 for this is that no data were at hand  
from which to make such precise         

measurements4 ,had ,aristarchus known   
the size of any one of the bodies in    
question1 he might readily1 of course1  
have determined the size of the others  
by the mere application of his relative 
scale2 but he had no means of           
determining the size of the earth1 and  
to this extent his system of            
measurements remained imperfect4 ,where 
,aristarchus halted1 however1 another   
worker of the same period took the task 
in hand and by an altogether wonderful  
measurement determined the size of the  
earth1 and thus brought the scientific  
theories of cosmology to their climax4  
,this worthy supplementor of the work of
 ,aristarchus was ,eratosthenes of      
,alexandria4   ,,eratosthenes1 ,,the    
,,surveyor ,,of ,,the ,,world  ,an      
altogether remarkable man was this      
native of ,cyrene1 who came to          
,alexandria from ,athens to be the chief
 librarian of ,ptolemy ,euergetes4 ,he  
was not merely an astronomer and a      
geographer1 but a poet and grammarian as

 well4 ,his contemporaries jestingly    
called him ,beta the ,second1 because he
 was said through the universality of   
his attainments to be a second ,plato in
 philosophy1 a second ,thales in        
astronomy1 and so on throughout the     
list4 ,he was also called the surveyor  
of the world1 in recognition of his     
services to geography4 ,hipparchus said 
of him1 perhaps half jestingly1 that he 
had studied astronomy as a geographer   
and geography as an astronomer4 ,it is  
not quite clear whether the epigram was 
meant as compliment or as criticism4    
,similar phrases have been turned       
against men of versatile talent in every
 age4 ,be that as it may1 ,eratosthenes 
passed into history as the father of    
scientific geography and of scientific  
chronology2 as the astronomer who first 
measured the obliquity of the ecliptic2 
and as the inventive genius who         
performed the astounding feat of        
measuring the size of the globe on which
 we live at a time when only a          

relatively small portion of that globe's
 surface was known to civilized man4 ,it
 is no discredit to approach astronomy  
as a geographer and geography as an     
astronomer if the results are such as   
these4 ,what ,eratosthenes really did   
was to approach both astronomy and      
geography from two seemingly divergent  
points of attack--namely1 from the      
stand-point of the geometer and also    
from that of the poet4 ,perhaps no man  
in any age has brought a better         
combination of observing and imaginative
 faculties to the aid of science4       
,nearly all the discoveries of          
,eratosthenes are associated with       
observations of the shadows cast by the 
sun4 ,we have seen that1 in the study of
 the heavenly bodies1 much depends on   
the measurement of angles4 ,now the     
easiest way in which angles can be      
measured1 when solar angles are in      
question1 is to pay attention1 not to   
the sun itself1 but to the shadow that  
it casts4 ,we saw that ,thales made some

 remarkable measurements with the aid of
 shadows1 and we have more than once    
referred to the gnomon1 which is the    
most primitive1 but which long remained 
the most important1 of astronomical     
instruments4 ,it is believed that       
,eratosthenes invented an important     
modification of the gnomon which was    
elaborated afterwards by ,hipparchus and
 called an armillary sphere4 ,this      
consists essentially of a small gnomon1 
or perpendicular post1 attached to a    
plane representing the earth's equator  
and a hemisphere in imitation of the    
earth's surface4 ,with the aid of this1 
the shadow cast by the sun could be very
 accurately measured4 ,it involves no   
new principle4 ,every perpendicular post
 or object of any kind placed in the    
sunlight casts a shadow from which the  
angles now in question could be roughly 
measured4 ,the province of the armillary
 sphere was to make these measurements  
extremely accurate4  ,with the aid of   
this implement1 ,eratosthenes carefully 

noted the longest and the shortest      
shadows cast by the gnomon--that is to  
say1 the shadows cast on the days of the
 solstices4 ,he found that the distance 
between the tropics thus measured       
represented #dg degrees #db' #ci of arc4
 ,one-half of this1 or #bc degrees #e1' 
#ai4e1 represented the obliquity of the 
ecliptic--that is to say1 the angle by  
which the earth's axis dipped from the  
perpendicular with reference to its     
orbit4 ,this was a most important       
observation1 and because of its accuracy
 it has served modern astronomers well  
for comparison in measuring the trifling
 change due to our earth's slow1        
swinging wobble4 ,for the earth1 be it  
understood1 like a great top spinning   
through space1 holds its position with  
relative but not quite absolute fixity4 
,it must not be supposed1 however1 that 
the experiment in question was quite new
 with ,eratosthenes4 ,his merit consists
 rather in the accuracy with which he   
made his observation than in the novelty

 of the conception2 for it is recorded  
that ,eudoxus1 a full century earlier1  
had remarked the obliquity of the       
ecliptic4 ,that observer had said that  
the obliquity corresponded to the side  
of a pentadecagon1 or fifteen-sided     
figure1 which is equivalent in modern   
phraseology to twenty-four degrees of   
arc4 ,but so little is known regarding  
the way in which ,eudoxus reached his   
estimate that the measurement of        
,eratosthenes is usually spoken of as if
 it were the first effort of the kind4  
,much more striking1 at least in its    
appeal to the popular imagination1 was  
that other great feat which             
,eratosthenes performed with the aid of 
his perfected gnomon--the measurement of
 the earth itself4 ,when we reflect that
 at this period the portion of the earth
 open to observation extended only from 
the ,straits of ,gibraltar on the west  
to ,india on the east1 and from the     
,north ,sea to ,upper ,egypt1 it        
certainly seems enigmatical--at first   

thought almost miraculous--that an      
observer should have been able to       
measure the entire globe4 ,that he      
should have accomplished this through   
observation of nothing more than a tiny 
bit of ,egyptian territory and a glimpse
 of the sun's shadow makes it seem but  
the more wonderful4 ,yet the method of  
,eratosthenes1 like many another enigma1
 seems simple enough once it is         
explained4 ,it required but the         
application of a very elementary        
knowledge of the geometry of circles1   
combined with the use of a fact or two  
from local geography--which detracts    
nothing from the genius of the man who  
could reason from such simple premises  
to so wonderful a conclusion4  ,stated  
in a few words1 the experiment of       
,eratosthenes was this4 ,his            
geographical studies had taught him that
 the town of ,syene lay directly south  
of ,alexandria1 or1 as we should say1 on
 the same meridian of latitude4 ,he had 
learned1 further1 that ,syene lay       

directly under the tropic1 since it was 
reported that at noon on the day of the 
summer solstice the gnomon there cast no
 shadow1 while a deep well was illumined
 to the bottom by the sun4 ,a third item
 of knowledge1 supplied by the surveyors
 of ,ptolemy1 made the distance between 
,syene and ,alexandria five thousand    
stadia4 ,these1 then1 were the          
preliminary data required by            
,eratosthenes4 ,their significance      
consists in the fact that here is a     
measured bit of the earth's arc five    
thousand stadia in length4 ,if we could 
find out what angle that bit of arc     
subtends1 a mere matter of              
multiplication would give us the size of
 the earth4 ,but how determine this     
all-important number8 ,the answer came  
through reflection on the relations of  
concentric circles4 ,if you draw any    
number of circles1 of whatever size1    
about a given centre1 a pair of radii   
drawn from that centre will cut arcs of 
the same relative size from all the     

circles4 ,one circle may be so small    
that the actual arc subtended by the    
radii in a given case may be but an inch
 in length1 while another circle is so  
large that its corresponding are is     
measured in millions of miles2 but in   
each case the same number of so-called  
degrees will represent the relation of  
each arc to its circumference4 ,now1    
,eratosthenes knew1 as just stated1 that
 the sun1 when on the meridian on the   
day of the summer solstice1 was directly
 over the town of ,syene4 ,this meant   
that at that moment a radius of the     
earth projected from ,syene would point 
directly towards the sun4 ,meanwhile1 of
 course1 the zenith would represent the 
projection of the radius of the earth   
passing through ,alexandria4 ,all that  
was required1 then1 was to measure1 at  
,alexandria1 the angular distance of the
 sun from the zenith at noon on the day 
of the solstice to secure an approximate
 measurement of the arc of the sun's    
circumference1 corresponding to the arc 

of the earth's surface represented by   
the measured distance between           
,alexandria and ,syene4  ,the reader    
will observe that the measurement could 
not be absolutely accurate1 because it  
is made from the surface of the earth1  
and not from the earth's centre1 but the
 size of the earth is so insignificant  
in comparison with the distance of the  
sun that this slight discrepancy could  
be disregarded4  ,the way in which      
,eratosthenes measured this angle was   
very simple4 ,he merely measured the    
angle of the shadow which his           
perpendicular gnomon at ,alexandria cast
 at mid-day on the day of the solstice1 
when1 as already noted1 the sun was     
directly perpendicular at ,syene4 ,now a
 glance at the diagram will make it     
clear that the measurement of this angle
 of the shadow is merely a convenient   
means of determining the precisely equal
 opposite angle subtending an arc of an 
imaginary circle passing through the    
sun2 the are which1 as already          

explained1 corresponds with the arc of  
the earth's surface represented by the  
distance between ,alexandria and ,syene4
 ,he found this angle to represent #g   
degrees #ab'1 or one-fiftieth of the    
circle4 ,five thousand stadia1 then1    
represent one-fiftieth of the earth's   
circumference2 the entire circumference 
being1 therefore1 #bej1jjj stadia4      
,unfortunately1 we do not know which one
 of the various measurements used in    
antiquity is represented by the stadia  
of ,eratosthenes4 ,according to the     
researches of ,lepsius1 however1 the    
stadium in question represented #ahj    
meters1 and this would make the earth1  
according to the measurement of         
,eratosthenes1 about twenty-eight       
thousand miles in circumference1 an     
answer sufficiently exact to justify the
 wonder which the experiment excited in 
antiquity1 and the admiration with which
 it has ever since been regarded4       
illustration caption  ,,diagram ,,to    
,,illustrate ,,eratosthenes'            

,,measurement ,,of ,,the ,,globe  ,,fig4
 #a4 ,,af is a gnomon at ,alexandria2   
,,sb a gnomon at ,svene2 ,,is and ,,jk  
represent the sun's rays4 ,the angle    
actually measured by ,eratosthenes is   
,,kfa1 as determined by the shadow cast 
by the gnomon ,,af4 ,this angle is equal
 to the opposite angle ,,jfl1 which     
measures the sun's distance from the    
zenith2 and which is also equal to the  
angle ,,aes--to determine the ,size of  
which is the real object of the entire  
measurement4  ,,fig4 #b shows the form  
of the gnomon actually employed in      
antiquity4 ,the hemisphere ,,ka being   
marked with a scale1 it is obvious that 
in actual practice ,eratosthenes        
required only to set his gnomon in the  
sunlight at the proper moment1 and read 
off the answer to his problem at a      
glance4 ,the simplicity of the method   
makes the result seem all the more      
wonderful4  ,of course it is the method1
 and not its details or its exact       
results1 that excites our interest4 ,and

 beyond question the method was an      
admirable one4 ,its result1 however1    
could not have been absolutely accurate1
 because1 while correct in principle1   
its data were defective4 ,in point of   
fact ,syene did not lie precisely on the
 same meridian as ,alexandria1 neither  
did it lie exactly on the tropic4 ,here1
 then1 are two elements of inaccuracy4  
,moreover1 it is doubtful whether       
,eratosthenes made allowance1 as he     
should have done1 for the semi-diameter 
of the sun in measuring the angle of the
 shadow4 ,but these are mere details1   
scarcely worthy of mention from our     
present stand-point4 ,what perhaps is   
deserving of more attention is the fact 
that this epoch-making measurement of   
,eratosthenes may not have been the     
first one to be made4 ,a passage of     
,aristotle records that the size of the 
earth was said to be #djj1jjj stadia4   
,some commentators have thought that    
,aristotle merely referred to the area  
of the inhabited portion of the earth   

and not to the circumference of the     
earth itself1 but his words seem        
doubtfully susceptible of this          
interpretation2 and if he meant1 as his 
words seem to imply1 that philosophers  
of his day had a tolerably precise idea 
of the globe1 we must assume that this  
idea was based upon some sort of        
measurement4 ,the recorded size1        
#djj1jjj stadia1 is a sufficient        
approximation to the truth to suggest   
something more than a mere unsupported  
guess4 ,now1 since ,aristotle died more 
than fifty years before ,eratosthenes   
was born1 his report as to the alleged  
size of the earth certainly has a       
suggestiveness that cannot be           
overlooked2 but it arouses speculations 
without giving an inkling as to their   
solution4 ,if ,eratosthenes had a       
precursor as an earth-measurer1 no hint 
or rumor has come down to us that would 
enable us to guess who that precursor   
may have been4 ,his personality is as   
deeply enveloped in the mists of the    

past as are the personalities of the    
great prehistoric discoverers4 ,for the 
purpose of the historian1 ,eratosthenes 
must stand as the inventor of the method
 with which his name is associated1 and 
as the first man of whom we can say with
 certainty that he measured the size of 
the earth4 ,right worthily1 then1 had   
the ,alexandrian philosopher won his    
proud title of surveyor of the world4   
,,hipparchus1 ,,the ,,lover ,,of ,,truth
  ,eratosthenes outlived most of his    
great contemporaries4 ,he saw the       
turning of that first and greatest      
century of ,alexandrian science1 the    
third century before our era4 ,he died  
in the year #aif ,b4,c41 having1 it is  
said1 starved himself to death to escape
 the miseries of blindness2--to the     
measurer of shadows1 life without light 
seemed not worth the living4            
,eratosthenes left no immediate         
successor4 ,a generation later1 however1
 another great figure appeared in the   
astronomical world in the person of     

,hipparchus1 a man who1 as a technical  
observer1 had perhaps no peer in the    
ancient world3 one who set so high a    
value upon accuracy of observation as to
 earn the title of the lover of truth4  
,hipparchus was born at ,nicaea1 in     
,bithynia1 in the year #afj ,b4,c4 ,his 
life1 all too short for the interests of
 science1 ended in the year #abe ,b4,c4 
,the observations of the great          
astronomer were made chiefly1 perhaps   
entirely1 at ,rhodes4 ,a                
misinterpretation of ,ptolemy's writings
 led to the idea that ,hipparchus1      
performed his chief labors in           
,alexandria1 but it is now admitted that
 there is no evidence for this4         
,delambre doubted1 and most subsequent  
writers follow him here1 whether        
,hipparchus ever so much as visited     
,alexandria4 ,in any event there seems  
to be no question that ,rhodes may claim
 the honor of being the chief site of   
his activities4  ,it was ,hipparchus    
whose somewhat equivocal comment on the 

work of ,eratosthenes we have already   
noted4 ,no counter-charge in kind could 
be made against the critic himself2 he  
was an astronomer pure and simple4 ,his 
gift was the gift of accurate           
observation rather than the gift of     
imagination4 ,no scientific progress is 
possible without scientific guessing1   
but ,hipparchus belonged to that class  
of observers with whom hypothesis is    
held rigidly subservient to fact4 ,it   
was not to be expected that his mind    
would be attracted by the heliocentric  
theory of ,aristarchus4 ,he used the    
facts and observations gathered by his  
great predecessor of ,samos1 but he     
declined to accept his theories4 ,for   
him the world was central2 his problem  
was to explain1 if he could1 the        
irregularities of motion which sun1     
moon1 and planets showed in their       
seeming circuits about the earth4       
,hipparchus had the gnomon of           
,eratosthenes--doubtless in a perfected 
form--to aid him1 and he soon proved    

himself a master in its use4 ,for him1  
as we have said1 accuracy was           
everything2 this was the one element    
that led to all his great successes4    
,perhaps his greatest feat was to       
demonstrate the eccentricity of the     
sun's seeming orbit4 ,we of to-day1     
thanks to ,keppler and his followers1   
know that the earth and the other       
planetary bodies in their circuit about 
the sun describe an ellipse and not a   
circle4 ,but in the day of ,hipparchus1 
though the ellipse was recognized as a  
geometrical figure 7it had been         
described and named along with the      
parabola and hyperbola by ,apollonius of
 ,perga1 the pupil of ,euclid71 yet it  
would have been the rankest heresy to   
suggest an elliptical course for any    
heavenly body4 ,a metaphysical theory1  
as propounded perhaps by the            
,pythagoreans but ardently supported by 
,aristotle1 declared that the circle is 
the perfect figure1 and pronounced it   
inconceivable that the motions of the   

spheres should be other than circular4  
,this thought dominated the mind of     
,hipparchus1 and so when his careful    
measurements led him to the discovery   
that the northward and southward        
journeyings of the sun did not divide   
the year into four equal parts1 there   
was nothing open to him but to either   
assume that the earth does not lie      
precisely at the centre of the sun's    
circular orbit or to find some          
alternative hypothesis4  ,in point of   
fact1 the sun 7reversing the point of   
view in accordance with modern          
discoveries7 does lie at one focus of   
the earth's elliptical orbit1 and       
therefore away from the physical centre 
of that orbit2 in other words1 the      
observations of ,hipparchus were        
absolutely accurate4 ,he was quite      
correct in finding that the sun spends  
more time on one side of the equator    
than on the other4 ,when1 therefore1 he 
estimated the relative distance of the  
earth from the geometrical centre of the

 sun's supposed circular orbit1 and     
spoke of this as the measure of the     
sun's eccentricity1 he propounded a     
theory in which true data of observation
 were curiously mingled with a          
positively inverted theory4 ,that the   
theory of ,hipparchus was absolutely    
consistent with all the facts of this   
particular observation is the best      
evidence that could be given of the     
difficulties that stood in the way of a 
true explanation of the mechanism of the
 heavens4  ,but it is not merely the sun
 which was observed to vary in the speed
 of its orbital progress2 the moon and  
the planets also show curious           
accelerations and retardations of       
motion4 ,the moon in particular received
 most careful attention from            
,hipparchus4 ,dominated by his          
conception of the perfect spheres1 he   
could find but one explanation of the   
anomalous motions which he observed1 and
 this was to assume that the various    
heavenly bodies do not fly on in an     

unvarying arc in their circuit about the
 earth1 but describe minor circles as   
they go which can be likened to nothing 
so tangibly as to a light attached to   
the rim of a wagon-wheel in motion4 ,if 
such an invisible wheel be imagined as  
carrying the sun1 for example1 on its   
rim1 while its invisible hub follows    
unswervingly the circle of the sun's    
mean orbit 7this wheel1 be it           
understood1 lying in the plane of the   
orbit1 not at right-angles to it71 then 
it must be obvious that while the hub   
remains always at the same distance from
 the earth1 the circling rim will carry 
the sun nearer the earth1 then farther  
away1 and that while it is traversing   
that portion of the are which brings it 
towards the earth1 the actual forward   
progress of the sun will be retarded    
notwithstanding the uniform motion of   
the hub1 just as it will be accelerated 
in the opposite arc4 ,now1 if we suppose
 our sun-bearing wheel to turn so slowly
 that the sun revolves but once about   

its imaginary hub while the wheel itself
 is making the entire circuit of the    
orbit1 we shall have accounted for the  
observed fact that the sun passes more  
quickly through one-half of the orbit   
than through the other4 ,moreover1 if we
 can visualize the process and imagine  
the sun to have left a visible line of  
fire behind him throughout the course1  
we shall see that in reality the two    
circular motions involved have really   
resulted in producing an elliptical     
orbit4  ,the idea is perhaps made       
clearer if we picture the actual        
progress of the lantern attached to the 
rim of an ordinary cart-wheel4 ,when the
 cart is drawn forward the lantern is   
made to revolve in a circle as regards  
the hub of the wheel1 but since that hub
 is constantly going forward1 the actual
 path described by the lantern is not a 
circle at all but a waving line4 ,it is 
precisely the same with the imagined    
course of the sun in its orbit1 only    
that we view these lines just as we     

should view the lantern on the wheel if 
we looked at it from directly above and 
not from the side4 ,the proof that the  
sun is describing this waving line1 and 
therefore must be considered as attached
 to an imaginary wheel1 is furnished1 as
 it seemed to ,hipparchus1 by the       
observed fact of the sun's varying      
speed4  ,that is one way of looking at  
the matter4 ,it is an hypothesis that   
explains the observed facts--after a    
fashion1 and indeed a very remarkable   
fashion4 ,the idea of such an           
explanation did not originate with      
,hipparchus4 ,the germs of the thought  
were as old as the ,pythagorean doctrine
 that the earth revolves about a centre 
that we cannot see4 ,eudoxus gave the   
conception greater tangibility1 and may 
be considered as the father of this     
doctrine of wheels--epicycles1 as they  
came to be called4 ,two centuries before
 the time of ,hipparchus he conceived a 
doctrine of spheres which ,aristotle    
found most interesting1 and which served

 to explain1 along the lines we have    
just followed1 the observed motions of  
the heavenly bodies4 ,calippus1 the     
reformer of the calendar1 is said to    
have carried an account of this theory  
to ,aristotle4 ,as new irregularities of
 motion of the sun1 moon1 and planetary 
bodies were pointed out1 new epicycles  
were invented4 ,there is no limit to the
 number of imaginary circles that may be
 inscribed about an imaginary centre1   
and if we conceive each one of these    
circles to have a proper motion of its  
own1 and each one to carry the sun in   
the line of that motion1 except as it is
 diverted by the other motions--if we   
can visualize this complex mingling of  
wheels--we shall certainly be able to   
imagine the heavenly body which lies at 
the juncture of all the rims1 as being  
carried forward in as erratic and wobbly
 a manner as could be desired4 ,in other
 words1 the theory of epicycles will    
account for all the facts of the        
observed motions of all the heavenly    

bodies1 but in so doing it fills the    
universe with a most bewildering network
 of intersecting circles4 ,even in the  
time of ,calippus fifty-five of these   
spheres were computed4  ,we may well    
believe that the clear-seeing           
,aristarchus would look askance at such 
a complex system of imaginary machinery4
 ,but ,hipparchus1 pre-eminently an     
observer rather than a theorizer1 seems 
to have been content to accept the      
theory of epicycles as he found it1     
though his studies added to its         
complexities2 and ,hipparchus was the   
dominant scientific personality of his  
century4 ,what he believed became as a  
law to his immediate successors4 ,his   
tenets were accepted as final by their  
great popularizer1 ,ptolemy1 three      
centuries later2 and so the heliocentric
 theory of ,aristarchus passed under a  
cloud almost at the hour of its dawning1
 there to remain obscured and forgotten 
for the long lapse of centuries4 ,a     
thousand pities that the greatest       

observing astronomer of antiquity could 
not1 like one of his great precursors1  
have approached astronomy from the      
stand-point of geography and poetry4    
,had he done so1 perhaps he might have  
reflected1 like ,aristarchus before him1
 that it seems absurd for our earth to  
hold the giant sun in thraldom2 then    
perhaps his imagination would have      
reached out to the heliocentric         
doctrine1 and the cobweb hypothesis of  
epicycles1 with that yet more intangible
 figment of the perfect circle1 might   
have been wiped away4  ,but it was not  
to be4 ,with ,aristarchus the scientific
 imagination had reached its highest    
flight2 but with ,hipparchus it was     
beginning to settle back into regions of
 foggier atmosphere and narrower        
horizons4 ,for what1 after all1 does it 
matter that ,hipparchus should go on to 
measure the precise length of the year  
and the apparent size of the moon's     
disk2 that he should make a chart of the
 heavens showing the place of #ajhj     

stars2 even that he should discover the 
precession of the equinox2--what1 after 
all1 is the significance of these       
details as against the all-essential    
fact that the greatest scientific       
authority of his century--the one truly 
heroic scientific figure of his         
epoch--should have lent all the forces  
of his commanding influence to the old1 
false theory of cosmology1 when the true
 theory had been propounded and when he1
 perhaps1 was the only man in the world 
who might have substantiated and        
vitalized that theory8 ,it is easy to   
overestimate the influence of any single
 man1 and1 contrariwise1 to             
underestimate the power of the          
,zeitgeist4 ,but when we reflect that   
the doctrines of ,hipparchus1 as        
promulgated by ,ptolemy1 became1 as it  
were1 the last word of astronomical     
science for both the ,eastern and       
,western worlds1 and so continued after 
a thousand years1 it is perhaps not too 
much to say that ,hipparchus1 the lover 

of truth1 missed one of the greatest    
opportunities for the promulgation of   
truth ever vouchsafed to a devotee of   
pure science4  ,but all this1 of course1
 detracts nothing from the merits of    
,hipparchus as an observing astronomer4 
,a few words more must be said as to his
 specific discoveries in this field4    
,according to his measurement1 the      
tropic year consists of #cfe days1 #e   
hours1 and #di minutes1 varying thus    
only #ab seconds from the true year1 as 
the modern astronomer estimates it4 ,yet
 more remarkable1 because of the greater
 difficulties involved1 was             
,hipparchus's attempt to measure the    
actual distance of the moon4            
,aristarchus had made a similar attempt 
before him4 ,hipparchus based his       
computations on studies of the moon in  
eclipse1 and he reached the conclusion  
that the distance of the moon is equal  
to #ei radii of the earth 7in reality it
 is #fj4bg radii74 ,here1 then1 was the 
measure of the base-line of that famous 

triangle with which ,aristarchus had    
measured the distance of the sun4       
,hipparchus must have known of that     
measurement1 since he quotes the work of
 ,aristarchus in other fields4 ,had he  
now but repeated the experiment of      
,aristarchus1 with his perfected        
instruments and his perhaps greater     
observational skill1 he was in position 
to compute the actual distance of the   
sun in terms not merely of the moon's   
distance but of the earth's radius4 ,and
 now there was the experiment of        
,eratosthenes to give the length of that
 radius in precise terms4 ,in other     
words1 ,hipparchus might have measured  
the distance of the sun in stadia4 ,but 
if he had made the attempt--and1 indeed1
 it is more than likely that he did     
so--the elements of error in his        
measurements would still have kept him  
wide of the true figures4  ,the chief   
studies of ,hipparchus were directed1 as
 we have seen1 towards the sun and the  
moon1 but a phenomenon that occurred in 

the year #acd ,b4,c4 led him for a time 
to give more particular attention to the
 fixed stars4 ,the phenomenon in        
question was the sudden outburst of a   
new star2 a phenomenon which has been   
repeated now and again1 but which is    
sufficiently rare and sufficiently      
mysterious to have excited the unusual  
attention of astronomers in all         
generations4 ,modern science offers an  
explanation of the phenomenon1 as we    
shall see in due course4 ,we do not know
 that ,hipparchus attempted to explain  
it1 but he was led to make a chart of   
the heavens1 probably with the idea of  
guiding future observers in the         
observation of new stars4 ,here again   
,hipparchus was not altogether an       
innovator1 since a chart showing the    
brightest stars had been made by        
,eratosthenes2 but the new charts were  
much elaborated4  ,the studies of       
,hipparchus led him to observe the stars
 chiefly with reference to the meridian 
rather than with reference to their     

rising1 as had hitherto been the custom4
 ,in making these studies of the        
relative position of the stars1         
,hipparchus was led to compare his      
observations with those of the          
,babylonians1 which1 it was said1       
,alexander had caused to be transmitted 
to ,greece4 ,he made use also of the    
observations of ,aristarchus and others 
of his ,greek precursors4 ,the result of
 his comparisons proved that the sphere 
of the fixed stars had apparently       
shifted its position in reference to the
 plane of the sun's orbit--that is to   
say1 the plane of the ecliptic no longer
 seemed to cut the sphere of the fixed  
stars at precisely the point where the  
two coincided in former centuries4 ,the 
plane of the ecliptic must therefore be 
conceived as slowly revolving in such a 
way as gradually to circumnavigate the  
heavens4 ,this important phenomenon is  
described as the precession of the      
equinoxes4  ,it is much in question     
whether this phenomenon was not known to

 the ancient ,egyptian astronomers2 but 
in any event1 ,hipparchus is to be      
credited with demonstrating the fact and
 making it known to the ,western world4 
,a further service was rendered         
theoretical astronomy by ,hipparchus    
through his invention of the            
planosphere1 an instrument for the      
representation of the mechanism of the  
heavens4 ,his computations of the       
properties of the spheres led him also  
to what was virtually a discovery of the
 method of trigonometry1 giving him1    
therefore1 a high position in the field 
of mathematics4 ,all in all1 then1      
,hipparchus is a most heroic figure4 ,he
 may well be considered the greatest    
star-gazer of antiquity1 though he      
cannot1 without injustice to his great  
precursors1 be allowed the title which  
is sometimes given him of father of     
systematic astronomy4   ,,ctesibius     
,,and ,,hero3 ,,magicians ,,of          
,,alexandria  ,just about the time when 
,hipparchus was working out at ,rhodes  

his puzzles of celestial mechanics1     
there was a man in ,alexandria who was  
exercising a strangely inventive genius 
over mechanical problems of another     
sort2 a man who1 following the example  
set by ,archimedes a century before1 was
 studying the problems of matter and    
putting his studies to practical        
application through the invention of    
weird devices4 ,the man's name was      
,ctesibius4 ,we know scarcely more of   
him than that he lived in ,alexandria1  
probably in the first half of the second
 century ,b4,c4 ,his antecedents1 the   
place and exact time of his birth and   
death1 are quite unknown4 ,neither are  
we quite certain as to the precise range
 of his studies or the exact number of  
his discoveries4 ,it appears that he had
 a pupil named ,hero1 whose personality1
 unfortunately1 is scarcely less obscure
 than that of his master1 but who wrote 
a book through which the record of the  
master's inventions was preserved to    
posterity4 ,hero1 indeed1 wrote several 

books1 though only one of them has been 
preserved4 ,the ones that are lost bear 
the following suggestive titles3 ,on the
 ,construction of ,slings2 ,on the      
,construction of ,missiles2 ,on the     
,automaton2 ,on the ,method of ,lifting 
,heavy ,bodies2 ,on the ,dioptric or    
,spying-tube4 ,the work that remains is 
called ,pneumatics1 and so interesting a
 work it is as to make us doubly regret 
the loss of its companion volumes4 ,had 
these other books been preserved we     
should doubtless have a clearer insight 
than is now possible into some at least 
of the mechanical problems that         
exercised the minds of the ancient      
philosophers4 ,the book that remains is 
chiefly concerned1 as its name implies1 
with the study of gases1 or1 rather1    
with the study of a single gas1 this    
being1 of course1 the air4 ,but it tells
 us also of certain studies in the      
dynamics of water that are most         
interesting1 and for the historian of   
science most important4  ,unfortunately1

 the pupil of ,ctesibius1 whatever his  
ingenuity1 was a man with a deficient   
sense of the ethics of science4 ,he     
tells us in his preface that the object 
of his book is to record some ingenious 
discoveries of others1 together with    
additional discoveries of his own1 but  
nowhere in the book itself does he give 
us the1 slightest clew as to where the  
line is drawn between the old and the   
new4 ,once1 in discussing the weight of 
water1 he mentions the law of           
,archimedes regarding a floating body1  
but this is the only case in which a    
scientific principle is traced to its   
source or in which credit is given to   
any one for a discovery4 ,this is the   
more to be regretted because ,hero has  
discussed at some length the theories   
involved in the treatment of his        
subject4 ,this reticence on the part of 
,hero1 combined with the fact that such 
somewhat later writers as ,pliny and    
,vitruvius do not mention ,hero's name1 
while they frequently mention the name  

of his master1 ,ctesibius1 has led      
modern critics to a somewhat sceptical  
attitude regarding the position of ,hero
 as an actual discoverer4  ,the man who 
would coolly appropriate some           
discoveries of others under cloak of a  
mere prefatorial reference was perhaps  
an expounder rather than an innovator1  
and had1 it is shrewdly suspected1 not  
much of his own to offer4 ,meanwhile1 it
 is tolerably certain that ,ctesibius   
was the discoverer of the principle of  
the siphon1 of the forcing-pump1 and of 
a pneumatic organ4 ,an examination of   
,hero's book will show that these are   
really the chief principles involved in 
most of the various interesting         
mechanisms which he describes4 ,we are  
constrained1 then1 to believe that the  
inventive genius who was really         
responsible for the mechanisms we are   
about to describe was ,ctesibius1 the   
master4 ,yet we owe a debt of gratitude 
to ,hero1 the pupil1 for having given   
wider vogue to these discoveries1 and in

 particular for the discussion of the   
principles of hydrostatics and          
pneumatics contained in the introduction
 to his book4 ,this discussion furnishes
 us almost our only knowledge as to the 
progress of ,greek philosophers in the  
field of mechanics since the time of    
,archimedes4  ,the main purpose of ,hero
 in his preliminary thesis has to do    
with the nature of matter1 and recalls1 
therefore1 the studies of ,anaxagoras   
and ,democritus4 ,hero1 however1        
approaches his subject from a purely    
material or practical stand-point4 ,he  
is an explicit champion of what we      
nowadays call the molecular theory of   
matter4 ,every body1 he tells us1 is    
composed of minute particles1 between   
which are empty spaces less than these  
particles of the body4 ,it is1          
therefore1 erroneous to say that there  
is no vacuum except by the application  
of force1 and that every space is full  
either of air or water or some other    
substance4 ,but in proportion as any one

 of these particles recedes1 some other 
follows it and fills the vacant space2  
therefore there is no continuous vacuum1
 except by the application of some force
 7like suction7--that is to say1 an     
absolute vacuum is never found1 except  
as it is produced artificially4 ,hero   
brings forward some thoroughly          
convincing proofs of the thesis he is   
maintaining4 ,if there were no void     
places between the particles of water1  
he says1 the rays of light could not    
penetrate the water2 moreover1 another  
liquid1 such as wine1 could not spread  
itself through the water1 as it is      
observed to do1 were the particles of   
water absolutely continuous4 ,the latter
 illustration is one the validity of    
which appeals as forcibly to the        
physicists of to-day as it did to ,hero4
 ,the same is true of the argument drawn
 from the compressibility of gases4     
,hero has evidently made a careful study
 of this subject4 ,he knows that an     
inverted tube full of air may be        

immersed in water without becoming wet  
on the inside1 proving that air is a    
physical substance2 but he knows also   
that this same air may be caused to     
expand to a much greater bulk by the    
application of heat1 or may1 on the     
other hand1 be condensed by pressure1 in
 which case1 as he is well aware1 the   
air exerts force in the attempt to      
regain its normal bulk4 ,but1 he argues1
 surely we are not to believe that the  
particles of air expand to fill all the 
space when the bulk of air as a whole   
expands under the influence of heat2 nor
 can we conceive that the particles of  
normal air are in actual contact1 else  
we should not be able to compress the   
air4 ,hence his conclusion1 which1 as we
 have seen1 he makes general in its     
application to all matter1 that there   
are spaces1 or1 as he calls them1 vacua1
 between the particles that go to make  
up all substances1 whether liquid1      
solid1 or gaseous4  ,here1 clearly      
enough1 was the idea of the atomic      

nature of matter accepted as a          
fundamental notion4 ,the argumentative  
attitude assumed by ,hero shows that the
 doctrine could not be expected to go   
unchallenged4 ,but1 on the other hand1  
there is nothing in his phrasing to     
suggest an intention to claim           
originality for any phase of the        
doctrine4 ,we may infer that in the     
three hundred years that had elapsed    
since the time of ,anaxagoras1 that     
philosopher's idea of the molecular     
nature of matter had gained fairly wide 
currency4 ,as to the expansive power of 
gas1 which ,hero describes at some      
length without giving us a clew to his  
authorities1 we may assume that         
,ctesibius was an original worker1 yet  
the general facts involved were         
doubtless much older than his day4      
,hero1 for example1 tells us of the     
cupping-glass used by physicians1 which 
he says is made into a vacuum by burning
 up the air in it2 but this apparatus   
had probably been long in use1 and ,hero

 mentions it not in order to describe   
the ordinary cupping-glass which is     
referred to1 but a modification of it4  
,he refers to the old form as if it were
 something familiar to all4  ,again1 we 
know that ,empedocles studied the       
pressure of the air in the fifth century
 ,b4,c41 and discovered that it would   
support a column of water in a closed   
tube1 so this phase of the subject is   
not new4 ,but there is no hint anywhere 
before this work of ,hero of a clear    
understanding that the expansive        
properties of the air when compressed1  
or when heated1 may be made available as
 a motor power4 ,hero1 however1 has the 
clearest notions on the subject and puts
 them to the practical test of          
experiment4 ,thus he constructs numerous
 mechanisms in which the expansive power
 of air under pressure is made to do    
work1 and others in which the same end  
is accomplished through the expansive   
power of heated air4 ,for example1 the  
doors of a temple are made to swing open

 automatically when a fire is lighted on
 a distant altar1 closing again when the
 fire dies out--effects which must have 
filled the minds of the pious observers 
with bewilderment and wonder1 serving a 
most useful purpose for the priests1 who
 alone1 we may assume1 were in the      
secret4 ,there were two methods by which
 this apparatus was worked4 ,in one the 
heated air pressed on the water in a    
close retort connected with the altar1  
forcing water out of the retort into a  
bucket1 which by its weight applied a   
force through pulleys and ropes that    
turned the standards on which the temple
 doors revolved4 ,when the fire died    
down the air contracted1 the water was  
siphoned back from the bucket1 which1   
being thus lightened1 let the doors     
close again through the action of an    
ordinary weight4 ,the other method was a
 slight modification1 in which the      
retort of water was dispensed with and a
 leather sack like a large football     
substitued4 ,the ropes and pulleys were 

connected with this sack1 which exerted 
a pull when the hot air expanded1 and   
which collapsed and thus relaxed its    
strain when the air cooled4 ,a glance at
 the illustrations taken from ,hero's   
book will make the details clear4       
,other mechanisms utilized a somewhat   
different combination of weights1       
pulleys1 and siphons1 operated by the   
expansive power of air1 unheated but    
under pressure1 such pressure being     
applied with a force-pump1 or by the    
weight of water running into a closed   
receptacle4 ,one such mechanism gives us
 a constant jet of water or perpetual   
fountain4 ,another curious application  
of the principle furnishes us with an   
elaborate toy1 consisting of a group of 
birds which alternately whistle or are  
silent1 while an owl seated on a        
neighboring perch turns towards the     
birds when their song begins and away   
from them when it ends4 ,the singing of 
the birds1 it must be explained1 is     
produced by the expulsion of air through

 tiny tubes passing up through their    
throats from a tank below4 ,the owl is  
made to turn by a mechanism similar to  
that which manipulates the temple doors4
 ,the pressure is supplied merely by a  
stream of running water1 and the        
periodical silence of the birds is due  
to the fact that this pressure is       
relieved through the automatic siphoning
 off of the water when it reaches a     
certain height4 ,the action of the      
siphon1 it may be added1 is correctly   
explained by ,hero as due to the greater
 weight of the water in the longer arm  
of the bent tube4 ,as before mentioned1 
the siphon is repeatedly used in these  
mechanisms of ,hero4 ,the diagram will  
make clear the exact application of it  
in the present most ingenious mechanism4
 ,we may add that the principle of the  
whistle was a favorite one of ,hero4 ,by
 the aid of a similar mechanism he      
brought about the blowing of trumpets   
when the temple doors were opened1 a    
phenomenon which must greatly have      

enhanced the mystification4 ,it is      
possible that this principle was        
utilized also in connection with statues
 to produce seemingly supernatural      
effects4 ,this may be the explanation of
 the tradition of the speaking statue in
 the temple of ,ammon at ,thebes4       
illustration caption  ,,device ,,for    
,,causing ,,the ,,doors ,,of ,,the      
,,temple ,,to ,,open ,,when ,,the ,,fire
 ,,on ,,the ,,altar ,,is ,,lighted 7,air
 heated in the altar ,f drives water    
from the closed receptacle ,h through   
the tube ,,kl into the bucket ,m1 which 
descends through gravity1 thus opening  
the doors4 ,when the altar cools1 the   
air contracts1 the water is sucked from 
the bucket1 and the weight and pulley   
close the doors47  illustration caption 
,,the ,,steam-,,engine ,,of ,,hero 7,the
 steam generated in the receptacle ,,ab 
passes through the tube ,,ef into the   
globe1 and escapes through the bent     
tubes ,h and ,k1 causing the globe to   
rotate on the axis ,,lg47   ,the        

utilization of the properties of        
compressed air was not confined1        
however1 exclusively to mere toys1 or to
 produce miraculous effects4 ,the same  
principle was applied to a practical    
fire-engine1 worked by levers and       
force-pumps2 an apparatus1 in short1    
altogether similar to that still in use 
in rural districts4 ,a slightly         
different application of the motive     
power of expanding air is furnished in a
 very curious toy called the dancing    
figures4 ,in this1 air heated in a      
retort like a miniature altar is allowed
 to escape through the sides of two     
pairs of revolving arms precisely like  
those of the ordinary revolving fountain
 with which we are accustomed to water  
our lawns1 the revolving arms being     
attached to a plane on which several    
pairs of statuettes representing dancers
 are placed1 ,an even more interesting  
application of this principle of setting
 a wheel in motion is furnished in a    
mechanism which must be considered the  

earliest of steam-engines4 ,here1 as the
 name implies1 the gas supplying the    
motive power is actually steam4 ,the    
apparatus made to revolve is a globe    
connected with the steam-retort by a    
tube which serves as one of its axes1   
the steam escaping from the globe       
through two bent tubes placed at either 
end of an equatorial diameter4 ,it does 
not appear that ,hero had any thought of
 making practical use of this           
steam-engine4 ,it was merely a curious  
toy--nothing more4 ,yet had not the age 
that succeeded that of ,hero been one in
 which inventive genius was dormant1    
some one must soon have hit upon the    
idea that this steam-engine might be    
improved and made to serve a useful     
purpose4 ,as the case stands1 however1  
there was no advance made upon the steam
 motor of ,hero for almost two thousand 
years4 ,and1 indeed1 when the practical 
application of steam was made1 towards  
the close of the eighteenth century1 it 
was made probably quite without         

reference to the experiment of ,hero1   
though knowledge of his toy may perhaps 
have given a clew to ,watt or his       
predecessors4   illustration caption    
,,the ,,slot-,,machine ,,of ,,hero 7,the
 coin introduced at ,a falls on the     
lever ,r1 and by its weight opens the   
valve ,s1 permitting the liquid to      
escape through the invisible tube ,,lm4 
,as the lever tips1 the coin slides off 
and the valve closes4 ,the liquid in    
tank must of course be kept above ,f47  
,in recent times there has been a       
tendency to give to this steam-engine of
 ,hero something more than full meed of 
appreciation4 ,to be sure1 it marked a  
most important principle in the         
conception that steam might be used as a
 motive power1 but1 except in the       
demonstration of this principle1 the    
mechanism of ,hero was much too         
primitive to be of any importance4 ,but 
there is one mechanism described by     
,hero which was a most explicit         
anticipation of a device1 which         

presumably soon went out of use1 and    
which was not reinvented until towards  
the close of the nineteenth century4    
,this was a device which has become     
familiar in recent times as the         
penny-in-the-slot machine4 ,when towards
 the close of the nineteenth century    
some inventive craftsman hit upon the   
idea of an automatic machine to supply  
candy1 a box of cigarettes1 or a whiff  
of perfumery1 he may or may not have    
borrowed his idea from the slot-machine 
of ,hero2 but in any event1 instead of  
being an innovator he was really two    
thousand years behind the times1 for the
 slot-machine of ,hero is the precise   
prototype of these modern ones4  ,the   
particular function which the mechanism 
of ,hero was destined to fulfil was the 
distribution of a jet of water1         
presumably used for sacramental         
purposes1 which was given out           
automatically when a five-drachma coin  
was dropped into the slot at the top of 
the machine4 ,the internal mechanism of 

the machine was simple enough1          
consisting merely of a lever operating a
 valve which was opened by the weight of
 the coin dropping on the little shelf  
at the end of the lever1 and which      
closed again when the coin slid off the 
shelf4 ,the illustration will show how  
simple this mechanism was4 ,yet to the  
worshippers1 who probably had entered   
the temple through doors miraculously   
opened1 and who now witnessed this      
seemingly intelligent response of a     
machine1 the result must have seemed    
mystifying enough2 and1 indeed1 for us  
also1 when we consider how relatively   
crude was the mechanical knowledge of   
the time1 this must seem nothing less   
than marvellous4 ,as in imagination we  
walk up to the sacred tank1 drop our    
drachma in the slot1 and hold our hand  
for the spurt of holy-water1 can we     
realize that this is the land of the    
,pharaohs1 not ,england or ,america2    
that the kingdom of the ,ptolemies is   
still at its height2 that the republic  

of ,rome is mistress of the world2 that 
all ,europe north of the ,alps is       
inhabited solely by barbarians2 that    
,cleopatra and ,julius ,caesar are yet  
unborn2 that the ,christian era has not 
yet begun8 ,truly1 it seems as if there 
could be no new thing under the sun4    
,x4 ,,science ,,of ,,the ,,roman        
,,period  ,we have seen that the third  
century ,b4,c4 was a time when          
,alexandrian science was at its height1 
but that the second century produced    
also in ,hipparchus at least one        
investigator of the very first rank2    
though1 to be sure1 ,hipparchus can be  
called an ,alexandrian only by courtesy4
 ,in the ensuing generations the ,greek 
capital at the mouth of the ,nile       
continued to hold its place as the      
centre of scientific and philosophical  
thought4 ,the kingdom of the ,ptolemies 
still flourished with at least the      
outward appearances of its old-time     
glory1 and a company of grammarians and 
commentators of no small merit could    

always be found in the service of the   
famous museum and library2 but the whole
 aspect of world-history was rapidly    
changing4 ,greece1 after her brief day  
of political supremacy1 was sinking     
rapidly into desuetude1 and the         
hard-headed ,roman in the ,west was     
making himself master everywhere4 ,while
 ,hipparchus of ,rhodes was in his      
prime1 ,corinth1 the last stronghold of 
the main-land of ,greece1 had fallen    
before the prowess of the ,roman1 and   
the kingdom of the ,ptolemies1 though   
still nominally free1 had begun to come 
within the sphere of ,roman influence4  
,just what share these political changes
 had in changing the aspect of ,greek   
thought is a question regarding which   
difference of opinion might easily      
prevail2 but there can be no question   
that1 for one reason or another1 the    
,alexandrian school as a creative centre
 went into a rapid decline at about the 
time of the ,roman rise to world-power4 
,there are some distinguished names1    

but1 as a general rule1 the spirit of   
the times is reminiscent rather than    
creative2 the workers tend to collate   
the researches of their predecessors    
rather than to make new and original    
researches for themselves4              
,eratosthenes1 the inventive            
world-measurer1 was succeeded by        
,strabo1 the industrious collator of    
facts2 ,aristarchus and ,hipparchus1 the
 originators of new astronomical        
methods1 were succeeded by ,ptolemy1 the
 perfecter of their methods and the     
systematizer of their knowledge4        
,meanwhile1 in the ,west1 ,rome never   
became a true culture-centre4 ,the great
 genius of the ,roman was political2 the
 ,augustan ,age produced a few great    
historians and poets1 but not a single  
great philosopher or creative devotee of
 science4 ,cicero1 ,lucian1 ,seneca1    
,marcus ,aurelius1 give us at best a    
reflection of ,greek philosophy4 ,pliny1
 the one world-famous name in the       
scientific annals of ,rome1 can lay     

claim to no higher credit than that of a
 marvellously industrious collector of  
facts--the compiler of an encyclopaedia 
which contains not one creative touch4  
,all in all1 then1 this epoch of ,roman 
domination is one that need detain the  
historian of science but a brief moment4
 ,with the culmination of ,greek effort 
in the so-called ,hellenistic period we 
have seen ancient science at its climax4
 ,the ,roman period is but a time of    
transition1 marking1 as it were1 a      
plateau on the slope between those      
earlier heights and the deep1 dark      
valleys of the ,middle ,ages4 ,yet we   
cannot quite disregard the efforts of   
such workers as those we have just      
named4 ,let us take a more specific     
glance at their accomplishments4        
,,strabo ,,the ,,geographer  ,the       
earliest of these workers in point of   
time is ,strabo4 ,this most famous of   
ancient geographers was born in ,amasia1
 ,pontus1 about #fc ,b4,c41 and lived to
 the year #bd ,a4,d41 living1 therefore1

 in the age of ,caesar and ,augustus1   
during which the final transformation in
 the political position of the kingdom  
of ,egypt was effected4 ,the name of    
,strabo in a modified form has become   
popularized through a curious           
circumstance4 ,the geographer1 it       
appears1 was afflicted with a peculiar  
squint of the eyes1 hence the name      
strabismus1 which the modern oculist    
applies to that particular infirmity4   
,fortunately1 the great geographer has  
not been forced to depend upon hearsay  
evidence for recognition4 ,his          
comprehensive work on geography has been
 preserved in its entirety1 being one of
 the few expansive classical writings of
 which this is true4 ,the other writings
 of ,strabo1 however1 including certain 
histories of which reports have come    
down to us1 are entirely lost4 ,the     
geography is in many ways a remarkable  
book4 ,it is not1 however1 a work in    
which any important new principles are  
involved4 ,rather is it typical of its  

age in that it is an elaborate          
compilation and a critical review of the
 labors of ,strabo's predecessors4      
,doubtless it contains a vast deal of   
new information as to the details of    
geography--precise areas and distance1  
questions of geographical locations as  
to latitude and zones1 and the like4    
,but however important these details may
 have been from a contemporary          
stand-point1 they1 of course1 can have  
nothing more than historical interest to
 posterity4 ,the value of the work from 
our present stand-point is chiefly due  
to the criticisms which ,strabo passes  
upon his forerunners1 and to the        
incidental historical and scientific    
references with which his work abounds4 
,being written in this closing period of
 ancient progress1 and summarizing1 as  
it does1 in full detail the geographical
 knowledge of the time1 it serves as an 
important guide-mark for the student of 
the progress of scientific thought4 ,we 
cannot do better than briefly to follow 

,strabo in his estimates and criticisms 
of the work of his predecessors1 taking 
note thus of the point of view from     
which he himself looked out upon the    
world4 ,we shall thus gain a clear idea 
as to the state of scientific geography 
towards the close of the classical      
epoch4  ,if the scientific investigation
 of any subject be the proper avocation 
of the philosopher1 says ,strabo1       
geography1 the science of which we      
propose to treat1 is certainly entitled 
to a high place2 and this is evident    
from many considerations4 ,they who     
first undertook to handle the matter    
were distinguished men4 ,homer1         
,anaximander the ,milesian1 and ,hecaeus
 7his fellow-citizen according to       
,eratosthenes71 ,democritus1 ,eudoxus1  
,dicaearchus1 and ,ephorus1 with many   
others1 and after these1 ,eratosthenes1 
,polybius1 and ,posidonius1 all of them 
philosophers4 ,nor is the great learning
 through which alone this subject can be
 approached possessed by any but a      

person acquainted with both human and   
divine things1 and these attainments    
constitute what is called philosophy4   
,in addition to its vast importance in  
regard to social life and the art of    
government1 geography unfolds to us a   
celestial phenomena1 acquaints us with  
the occupants of the land and ocean1 and
 the vegetation1 fruits1 and            
peculiarities of the various quarters of
 the earth1 a knowledge of which marks  
him who cultivates it as a man earnest  
in the great problem of life and        
happiness4  ,strabo goes on to say that 
in common with other critics1 including 
,hipparchus1 he regards ,homer as the   
first great geographer4 ,he has much to 
say on the geographical knowledge of the
 bard1 but this need not detain us4 ,we 
are chiefly concerned with his comment  
upon his more recent predecessors1      
beginning with ,eratosthenes4 ,the      
constant reference to this worker shows 
the important position which he held4   
,strabo appears neither as detractor nor

 as partisan1 but as one who earnestly  
desires the truth4 ,sometimes he seems  
captious in his criticisms regarding    
some detail1 nor is he always correct in
 his emendations of the labors of       
others2 but1 on the whole1 his work is  
marked by an evident attempt at         
fairness4 ,in reading his book1 however1
 one is forced to the conclusion that   
,strabo is an investigator of details1  
not an original thinker4 ,he seems more 
concerned with precise measurements than
 with questionings as to the open       
problems of his science4 ,whatever he   
accepts1 then1 may be taken as virtually
 the stock doctrine of the period4  ,as 
the size of the earth1 he says1 has been
 demonstrated by other writers1 we shall
 here take for granted and receive as   
accurate what they have advanced4 ,we   
shall also assume that the earth is     
spheroidal1 that its surface is likewise
 spheroidal and1 above all1 that bodies 
have a tendency towards its centre1     
which latter point is clear to the      

perception of the most average          
understanding4 ,however1 we may show    
summarily that the earth is spheroidal1 
from the consideration that all things1 
however distant1 tend to its centre1 and
 that every body is attracted towards   
its centre by gravity4 ,this is more    
distinctly proved from observations of  
the sea and sky1 for here the evidence  
of the senses and common observation is 
alone requisite4 ,the convexity of the  
sea is a further proof of this to those 
who have sailed1 for they cannot        
perceive lights at a distance when      
placed at the same level as their eyes1 
and if raised on high they at once      
become perceptible to vision though at  
the same time farther removed4 ,so when 
the eye is raised it sees what before   
was utterly imperceptible4 ,homer speaks
 of this when he says3        ',lifted  
up on the vast wave he quickly beheld   
afar4'  ,sailors as they approach their 
destination behold the shore continually
 raising itself to their view1 and      

objects which had at first seemed low   
begin to lift themselves4 ,our gnomons1 
also1 are1 among other things1 evidence 
of the revolution of the heavenly       
bodies1 and common-sense at once shows  
us that if the depth of the earth were  
infinite such a revolution could not    
take place47#a7  ,elsewhere ,strabo     
criticises ,eratosthenes for having     
entered into a long discussion as to the
 form of the earth4 ,this matter1       
,strabo thinks1 should have been        
disposed of in the compass of a few     
words4 ,obviously this doctrine of the  
globe's sphericity had1 in the course of
 #fjj years1 become so firmly           
established among the ,greek thinkers as
 to seem almost axiomatic4 ,we shall see
 later on how the ,western world made a 
curious recession from this seemingly   
secure position under stimulus of an    
,oriental misconception4 ,as to the size
 of the globe1 ,strabo is disposed to   
accept without particular comment the   
measurements of ,eratosthenes4 ,he      

speaks1 however1 of more recent         
measurements1 referring in particular to
 that adopted by ,posidonius1 according 
to which the circumference is only about
 one hundred and eighty thousand stadia4
 ,posidonius1 we may note in passing1   
was a contemporary and friend of        
,cicero1 and hence lived shortly before 
the time of ,strabo4 ,his measurement of
 the earth was based on observations of 
a star which barely rose above the      
southern horizon at ,rhodes as compared 
with the height of the same star when   
observed at ,alexandria4 ,this          
measurement of ,posidonius1 together    
with the even more famous measurement of
 ,eratosthenes1 appears to have been    
practically the sole guide as to the    
size of the earth throughout the later  
periods of antiquity1 and1 indeed1 until
 the later ,middle ,ages4  ,as becomes a
 writer who is primarily geographer and 
historian rather than astronomer1       
,strabo shows a much keener interest in 
the habitable portions of the globe than

 in the globe as a whole4 ,he assures us
 that this habitable portion of the     
earth is a great island1 since wherever 
men have approached the termination of  
the land1 the sea1 which we designate   
ocean1 has been met with1 and reason    
assures us of the similarity of this    
place which our senses have not been    
tempted to survey4 ,he points out that  
whereas sailors have not circumnavigated
 the globe1 that they had not been      
prevented from doing so by any          
continent1 and it seems to him          
altogether unlikely that the ,atlantic  
,ocean is divided into two seas by      
narrow isthmuses so placed as to prevent
 circumnavigation4 ,how much more       
probable that it is confluent and       
uninterrupted4 ,this theory1 he adds1   
goes better with the ebb and flow of the
 ocean4 ,moreover 7and here his         
reasoning becomes more fanciful71 the   
greater the amount of moisture          
surrounding the earth1 the easier would 
the heavenly bodies be supplied with    

vapor from thence4 ,yet he is disposed  
to believe1 following ,plato1 that the  
tradition concerning the island of      
,atlantos might be received as something
 more than idle fiction1 it having been 
related by ,solon1 on the authority of  
the ,egyptian priests1 that this island1
 almost as large as a continent1 was    
formerly in existence although now it   
had disappeared47#b7  ,in a word1 then1 
,strabo entertains no doubt whatever    
that it would be possible to sail around
 the globe from ,spain to ,india4       
,indeed1 so matter-of-fact an inference 
was this that the feat of ,columbus     
would have seemed less surprising in the
 first century of our era than it did   
when actually performed in the fifteenth
 century4 ,the terrors of the great     
ocean held the mariner back1 rather than
 any doubt as to where he would arrive  
at the end of the voyage4  ,coupled with
 the idea that the habitable portion of 
the earth is an island1 there was linked
 a tolerably definite notion as to the  

shape of this island4 ,this shape       
,strabo likens to a military cloak4 ,the
 comparison does not seem peculiarly apt
 when we are told presently that the    
length of the habitable earth is more   
than twice its breadth4 ,this idea1     
,strabo assures us1 accords with the    
most accurate observations both ancient 
and modern4 ,these observations seemed  
to show that it is not possible to live 
in the region close to the equator1 and 
that1 on the other hand1 the cold       
temperature sharply limits the          
habitability of the globe towards the   
north4 ,all the civilization of         
antiquity clustered about the           
,mediterranean1 or extended off towards 
the east at about the same latitude4    
,hence geographers came to think of the 
habitable globe as having the somewhat  
lenticular shape which a crude map of   
these regions suggests4 ,we have already
 had occasion to see that at an earlier 
day ,anaxagoras was perhaps influenced  
in his conception of the shape of the   

earth by this idea1 and the constant    
references of ,strabo impress upon us   
the thought that this long1 relatively  
narrow area of the earth's surface is   
the only one which can be conceived of  
as habitable4  ,strabo had much to tell 
us concerning zones1 which1 following   
,posidonius1 he believes to have been   
first described by ,parmenides4 ,we may 
note1 however1 that other traditions    
assert that both ,thales and ,pythagoras
 had divided the earth into zones4 ,the 
number of zones accepted by ,strabo is  
five1 and he criticises ,polybius for   
making the number six4 ,the five zones  
accepted by ,strabo are as follows3 the 
uninhabitable torrid zone lying in the  
region of the equator2 a zone on either 
side of this extending to the tropic2   
and then the temperate zones extending  
in either direction from the tropic to  
the arctic regions4 ,there seems to have
 been a good deal of dispute among the  
scholars of the time as to the exact    
arrangement of these zones1 but the     

general idea that the north-temperate   
zone is the part of the earth with which
 the geographer deals seemed clearly    
established4 ,that the south-temperate  
zone would also present a habitable area
 is an idea that is sometimes suggested1
 though seldom or never distinctly      
expressed4 ,it is probable that         
different opinions were held as to this1
 and no direct evidence being available1
 a cautiously scientific geographer like
 ,strabo would naturally avoid the      
expression of an opinion regarding it4  
,indeed1 his own words leave us somewhat
 in doubt as to the precise character of
 his notion regarding the zones4        
,perhaps we shall do best to quote them3
  ,let the earth be supposed to consist 
of five zones4 7#a7 ,the equatorial     
circle described around it4 7#b7        
,another parallel to this1 and defining 
the frigid zone of the northern         
hemisphere4 7#c7 ,a circle passing      
through the poles and cutting the two   
preceding circles at right-angles4 ,the 

northern hemisphere contains two        
quarters of the earth1 which are bounded
 by the equator and circle passing      
through the poles4 ,each of these       
quarters should be supposed to contain a
 four-sided district1 its northern side 
being of one-half of the parallel next  
the pole1 its southern by the half of   
the equator1 and its remaining sides by 
two segments of the circle drawn through
 the poles1 opposite to each other1 and 
equal in length4 ,in one of these 7which
 of them is of no consequence7 the earth
 which we inhabit is situated1          
surrounded by a sea and similar to an   
island4 ,this1 as we said before1 is    
evident both to our senses and to our   
reason4 ,but let any one doubt this1 it 
makes no difference so far as geography 
is concerned whether you believe the    
portion of the earth which we inhabit to
 be an island or only admit what we know
 from experience--namely1 that whether  
you start from the east or the west you 
may sail all around it4 ,certain        

intermediate spaces may have been left  
7unexplored71 but these are as likely to
 be occupied by sea as uninhabited land4
 ,the object of the geographer is to    
describe known countries4 ,those which  
are unknown he passes over equally with 
those beyond the limits of the inhabited
 earth4 ,it will1 therefore1 be         
sufficient for describing the contour of
 the island we have been speaking of1 if
 we join by a right line the outmost    
points which1 up to this time1 have been
 explored by voyagers along the coast on
 either side47#c7  ,we may pass over the
 specific criticisms of ,strabo upon    
various explorations that seem to have  
been of great interest to his           
contemporaries1 including an alleged    
trip of one ,eudoxus out into the       
,atlantic1 and the journeyings of       
,pytheas in the far north4 ,it is       
,pytheas1 we may add1 who was cited by  
,hipparchus as having made the mistaken 
observation that the length of the      
shadow of the gnomon is the same at     

,marseilles and ,byzantium1 hence that  
these two places are on the same        
parallel4 ,modern commentators have     
defended ,pytheas as regards this       
observation1 claiming that it was       
,hipparchus and not ,pytheas who made   
the second observation from which the   
faulty induction was drawn4 ,the point  
is of no great significance1 however1   
except as showing that a correct method 
of determining the problems of latitude 
had thus early been suggested4 ,that    
faulty observations and faulty          
application of the correct principle    
should have been made is not surprising4
 ,neither need we concern ourselves with
 the details as to the geographical     
distances1 which ,strabo found so worthy
 of criticism and controversy4 ,but in  
leaving the great geographer we may     
emphasize his point of view and that of 
his contemporaries by quoting three     
fundamental principles which he         
reiterates as being among the facts     
established by natural philosophers4 ,he

 tells us that 7#a7 ,the earth and      
heavens are spheroidal4 7#b7 ,the       
tendency of all bodies having weight is 
towards a centre4 7#c7 ,further1 the    
earth being spheroidal and having the   
same centre as the heavens1 is          
motionless1 as well as the axis that    
passes through both it and the heavens4 
,the heavens turn round both the earth  
and its axis1 from east to west4 ,the   
fixed stars turn round with it at the   
same rate as the whole4 ,these fixed    
stars follow in their course parallel   
circles1 the principal of which are the 
equator1 two tropics1 and the arctic    
circles2 while the planets1 the sun1 and
 the moon describe certain circles      
comprehended within the zodiac47#d7     
,here1 then1 is a curious mingling of   
truth and error4 ,the ,pythagorean      
doctrine that the earth is round had    
become a commonplace1 but it would      
appear that the theory of ,aristarchus1 
according to which the earth is in      
motion1 has been almost absolutely      

forgotten4 ,strabo does not so much as  
refer to it2 neither1 as we shall see1  
is it treated with greater respect by   
the other writers of the period4   ,,two
 ,,famous ,,expositors--,,pliny ,,and   
,,ptolemy  ,while ,strabo was pursuing  
his geographical studies at ,alexandria1
 a young man came to ,rome who was      
destined to make his name more widely   
known in scientific annals than that of 
any other ,latin writer of antiquity4   
,this man was ,plinius ,secundus1 who1  
to distinguish him from his nephew1 a   
famous writer in another field1 is      
usually spoken of as ,pliny the ,elder4 
,there is a famous story to the effect  
that the great ,roman historian ,livy on
 one occasion addressed a casual        
associate in the amphitheatre at ,rome1 
and on learning that the stranger hailed
 from the outlying ,spanish province of 
the empire1 remarked to him1 ,yet you   
have doubtless heard of my writings even
 there4 ,then1 replied the stranger1 you
 must be either ,livy or ,pliny4  ,the  

anecdote illustrates the wide fame which
 the ,roman naturalist achieved in his  
own day4 ,and the records of the ,middle
 ,ages show that this popularity did not
 abate in succeeding times4 ,indeed1 the
 ,natural ,history of ,pliny is one of  
the comparatively few bulky writings of 
antiquity that the efforts of copyists  
have preserved to us almost entire4 ,it 
is1 indeed1 a remarkable work and       
eminently typical of its time2 but its  
author was an industrious compiler1 not 
a creative genius4 ,as a monument of    
industry it has seldom been equalled1   
and in this regard it seems the more    
remarkable inasmuch as ,pliny was a     
practical man of affairs who occupied   
most of his life as a soldier fighting  
the battles of the empire4 ,he compiled 
his book in the leisure hours stolen    
from sleep1 often writing by the light  
of the camp-fire4 ,yet he cites or      
quotes from about four thousand works1  
most of which are known to us only by   
his references4 ,doubtless ,pliny added 

much through his own observations4 ,we  
know how keen was his desire to         
investigate1 since he lost his life     
through attempting to approach the      
crater of ,vesuvius on the occasion of  
that memorable eruption which buried the
 cities of ,herculaneum and ,pompeii4   
,doubtless the wandering life of the    
soldier had given ,pliny abundant       
opportunity for personal observation in 
his favorite fields of botany and       
zoology4 ,but the records of his own    
observations are so intermingled with   
knowledge drawn from books that it is   
difficult to distinguish the one from   
the other4 ,nor does this greatly       
matter1 for whether as closet-student or
 field-naturalist1 ,pliny's trait of    
mind is essentially that of the         
compiler4 ,he was no philosophical      
thinker1 no generalizer1 no path-maker  
in science4 ,he lived at the close of a 
great progressive epoch of thought2 in  
one of those static periods when        
numberless observers piled up an immense

 mass of details which might            
advantageously be sorted into a kind of 
encyclopaedia4 ,such an encyclopaedia is
 the so-called ,natural ,history of     
,pliny4 ,it is a vast jumble of more or 
less uncritical statements regarding    
almost every field of contemporary      
knowledge4 ,the descriptions of animals 
and plants predominate1 but the work as 
a whole would have been immensely       
improved had the compiler shown a more  
critical spirit4 ,as it is1 he seems    
rather disposed to quote any interesting
 citation that he comes across in his   
omnivorous readings1 shielding himself  
behind an equivocal it is said1 or so   
and so alleges4 ,a single illustration  
will suffice to show what manner of     
thing is thought worthy of repetition4  
,it is asserted1 he says1 that if the   
fish called a sea-star is smeared with  
the fox's blood and then nailed to the  
upper lintel of the door1 or to the door
 itself1 with a copper nail1 no noxious 
spell will be able to obtain admittance1

 or1 at all events1 be productive of any
 ill effects4  ,it is easily            
comprehensible that a work fortified    
with such practical details as this     
should have gained wide popularity4     
,doubtless the natural histories of our 
own day would find readier sale were    
they to pander to various superstitions 
not altogether different from that here 
suggested4 ,the man1 for example1 who   
believes that to have a black cat cross 
his path is a lucky omen would naturally
 find himself attracted by a book which 
took account of this and similar        
important details of natural history4   
,perhaps1 therefore1 it was its         
inclusion of absurdities1 quite as much 
as its legitimate value1 that gave vogue
 to the celebrated work of ,pliny4 ,but 
be that as it may1 the most famous      
scientist of ,rome must be remembered as
 a popular writer rather than as an     
experimental worker4 ,in the history of 
the promulgation of scientific knowledge
 his work is important2 in the history  

of scientific principles it may         
virtually be disregarded4   ,,ptolemy1  
,,the ,,last ,,great ,,astronomer ,,of  
,,antiquity  ,almost the same thing may 
be said of ,ptolemy1 an even more       
celebrated writer1 who was born not very
 long after the death of ,pliny4 ,the   
exact dates of ,ptolemy's life are not  
known1 but his recorded observations    
extend to the year #aea ,a4,d4 ,he was a
 working astronomer1 and he made at     
least one original discovery of some    
significance--namely1 the observation of
 a hitherto unrecorded irregularity of  
the moon's motion1 which came to be     
spoken of as the moon's evection4 ,this 
consists of periodical aberrations from 
the moon's regular motion in its orbit1 
which1 as we now know1 are due to the   
gravitation pull of the sun1 but which  
remained unexplained until the time of  
,newton4 ,ptolemy also made original    
observations as to the motions of the   
planets4 ,he is1 therefore1 entitled to 
a respectable place as an observing     

astronomer2 but his chief fame rests on 
his writings4  ,his great works have to 
do with geography and astronomy4 ,in the
 former field he makes an advance upon  
,strabo1 citing the latitude of no fewer
 than five thousand places4 ,in the     
field of astronomy1 his great service   
was to have made known to the world the 
labors of ,hipparchus4 ,ptolemy has been
 accused of taking the star-chart of his
 great predecessor without due credit1  
and indeed it seems difficult to clear  
him of this charge4 ,yet it is at least 
open to doubt whether he intended any   
impropriety1 inasmuch as he all along is
 sedulous in his references to his      
predecessor4 ,indeed1 his work might    
almost be called an exposition of the   
astronomical doctrines of ,hipparchus4  
,no one pretends that ,ptolemy is to be 
compared with the ,rhodesian observer as
 an original investigator1 but as a     
popular expounder his superiority is    
evidenced in the fact that the writings 
of ,ptolemy became practically the sole 

astronomical text-book of the ,middle   
,ages both in the ,east and in the      
,west1 while the writings of ,hipparchus
 were allowed to perish4  ,the most     
noted of all the writings of ,ptolemy is
 the work which became famous under the 
,arabic name of ,almagest4 ,this word is
 curiously derived from the ,greek title
 7gr h megisth suntazis71 the greatest  
construction1 a name given the book to  
distinguish it from a work on astrology 
in four books by the same author4 ,for  
convenience of reference it came to be  
spoken of merely as 7gr h megisth71 from
 which the ,arabs form the title ,tabair
 al ,magisthi1 under which title the    
book was published in the year #hbg4    
,from this it derived the word          
,almagest1 by which ,ptolemy's work     
continued to be known among the ,arabs1 
and subsequently among ,europeans when  
the book again became known in the      
,west4 ,ptolemy's book1 as has been     
said1 is virtually an elaboration of the
 doctrines of ,hipparchus4 ,it assumes  

that the earth is the fixed centre of   
the solar system1 and that the stars and
 planets revolve about it in twenty-four
 hours1 the earth being1 of course1     
spherical4 ,it was not to be expected   
that ,ptolemy should have adopted the   
heliocentric idea of ,aristarchus4 ,yet 
it is much to be regretted that he      
failed to do so1 since the deference    
which was accorded his authority        
throughout the ,middle ,ages would      
doubtless have been extended in some    
measure at least to this theory as well1
 had he championed it4 ,contrariwise1   
his unqualified acceptance of the       
geocentric doctrine sufficed to place   
that doctrine beyond the range of       
challenge4  ,the ,almagest treats of all
 manner of astronomical problems1 but   
the feature of it which gained it widest
 celebrity was perhaps that which has to
 do with eccentrics and epicycles4 ,this
 theory was1 of course1 but an          
elaboration of the ideas of ,hipparchus2
 but1 owing to the celebrity of the     

expositor1 it has come to be spoken of  
as the theory of ,ptolemy4 ,we have     
sufficiently detailed the theory in     
speaking of ,hipparchus4 ,it should be  
explained1 however1 that1 with both     
,hipparchus and ,ptolemy1 the theory of 
epicycles would appear to have been held
 rather as a working hypothesis than as 
a certainty1 so far as the actuality of 
the minor spheres or epicycles is       
concerned4 ,that is to say1 these       
astronomers probably did not conceive   
either the epicycles or the greater     
spheres as constituting actual solid    
substances4 ,subsequent generations1    
however1 put this interpretation upon   
the theory1 conceiving the various      
spheres as actual crystalline bodies4   
,it is difficult to imagine just how the
 various epicycles were supposed to     
revolve without interfering with the    
major spheres1 but perhaps this is no   
greater difficulty than is presented by 
the alleged properties of the ether1    
which physicists of to-day accept as at 

least a working hypothesis4 ,we shall   
see later on how firmly the conception  
of concentric crystalline spheres was   
held to1 and that no real challenge was 
ever given that theory until the        
discovery was made that comets have an  
orbit that must necessarily intersect   
the spheres of the various planets4     
,ptolemy's system of geography in eight 
books1 founded on that of ,marinus of   
,tyre1 was scarcely less celebrated     
throughout the ,middle ,ages than the   
,almagest4 ,it contained little1        
however1 that need concern us here1     
being rather an elaboration of the      
doctrines to which we have already      
sufficiently referred4 ,none of         
,ptolemy's original manuscripts has come
 down to us1 but there is an alleged    
fifth-century manuscript attributed to  
,agathadamon of ,alexandria which has   
peculiar interest because it contains a 
series of twenty-seven elaborately      
colored maps that are supposed to be    
derived from maps drawn up by ,ptolemy  

himself4 ,in these maps the sea is      
colored green1 the mountains red or dark
 yellow1 and the land white4 ,ptolemy   
assumed that a degree at the equator was
 #ejj stadia instead of #fjd stadia in  
length4 ,we are not informed as to the  
grounds on which this assumption was    
made1 but it has been suggested that the
 error was at least partially           
instrumental in leading to one very     
curious result4 ,taking the parallel of 
,rhodes1 says ,donaldson17#e7 he        
calculated the longitudes from the      
,fortunate ,islands to ,cattigara or the
 west coast of ,borneo at #ahj degrees1 
conceiving this to be one-half the      
circumference of the globe4 ,the real   
distance is only #abe degrees or #abg   
degrees1 so that his measurement is     
wrong by one third of the whole1        
one-sixth for the error in the          
measurement of a degree and one-sixth   
for the errors in measuring the distance
 geometrically4 ,these errors1 owing to 
the authority attributed to the         

geography of ,ptolemy in the ,middle    
,ages1 produced a consequence of the    
greatest importance4 ,they really led to
 the discovery of ,america4 ,for the    
design of ,columbus to sail from the    
west of ,europe to the east of ,asia was
 founded on the supposition that the    
distance was less by one third than it  
really was4 ,this view is perhaps a     
trifle fanciful1 since there is nothing 
to suggest that the courage of ,columbus
 would have balked at the greater       
distance1 and since the protests of the 
sailors1 which nearly thwarted his      
efforts1 were made long before the      
distance as estimated by ,ptolemy had   
been covered2 nevertheless it is        
interesting to recall that the great    
geographical doctrines1 upon which      
,columbus must chiefly have based his   
arguments1 had been before the world in 
an authoritative form practically       
unheeded for more than twelve hundred   
years1 awaiting a champion with courage 
enough to put them to the test4         

,,galen--,,the ,,last ,,great           
,,alexandrian  ,there is one other field
 of scientific investigation to which we
 must give brief attention before       
leaving the antique world4 ,this is the 
field of physiology and medicine4 ,in   
considering it we shall have to do with 
the very last great scientist of the    
,alexandrian school4 ,this was ,claudius
 ,galenus1 commonly known as ,galen1 a  
man whose fame was destined to eclipse  
that of all other physicians of         
antiquity except ,hippocrates1 and whose
 doctrines were to have the same force  
in their field throughout the ,middle   
,ages that the doctrines of ,aristotle  
had for physical science4 ,but before we
 take up ,galen's specific labors1 it   
will be well to inquire briefly as to   
the state of medical art and science in 
the ,roman world at the time when the   
last great physician of antiquity came  
upon the scene4  ,the ,romans1 it would 
appear1 had done little in the way of   
scientific discoveries in the field of  

medicine1 but1 nevertheless1 with their 
practicality of mind1 they had turned to
 better account many more of the        
scientific discoveries of the ,greeks   
than did the discoverers themselves4    
,the practising physicians in early     
,rome were mostly men of ,greek origin1 
who came to the capital after the       
overthrow of the ,greeks by the ,romans4
 ,many of them were slaves1 as earning  
money by either bodily or mental labor  
was considered beneath the dignity of a 
,roman citizen4 ,the wealthy ,romans1   
who owned large estates and numerous    
slaves1 were in the habit of purchasing 
some of these slave doctors1 and thus   
saving medical fees by having them      
attend to the health of their families4 
,by the beginning of the ,christian era 
medicine as a profession had sadly      
degenerated1 and in place of a class of 
physicians who practised medicine along 
rational or legitimate lines1 in the    
footsteps of the great ,hippocrates1    
there appeared great numbers of         

specialists1 most of them charlatans1   
who pretended to possess supernatural   
insight in the methods of treating      
certain forms of disease4 ,these        
physicians rightly earned the contempt  
of the better class of ,romans1 and were
 made the object of many attacks by the 
satirists of the time4 ,such specialists
 travelled about from place to place in 
much the same manner as the itinerant   
,indian doctors and lightning           
tooth-extractors do to-day4 ,eye-doctors
 seem to have been particularly         
numerous1 and these were divided into   
two classes1 eye-surgeons and           
eye-doctors proper4 ,the eye-surgeon    
performed such operations as cauterizing
 for ingrowing eyelashes and operating  
upon growths about the eyes2 while the  
eye-doctors depended entirely upon      
salves and lotions4 ,these eye-salves   
were frequently stamped with the seal of
 the physician who compounded them1     
something like two hundred of these     
seals being still in existence4 ,there  

were besides these quacks1 however1     
reputable eye-doctors who must have     
possessed considerable skill in the     
treatment of certain ophthalmias4 ,among
 some ,roman surgical instruments       
discovered at ,rheims were found also   
some drugs employed by ophthalmic       
surgeons1 and an analysis of these show 
that they contained1 among other        
ingredients1 some that are still        
employed in the treatment of certain    
affections of the eye4  ,one of the     
first steps taken in recognition of the 
services of physicians was by ,julius   
,caesar1 who granted citizenship to all 
physicians practising in ,rome4 ,this   
was about fifty years before the        
,christian era1 and from that time on   
there was a gradual improvement in the  
attitude of the ,romans towards the     
members of the medical profession4 ,as  
the ,romans degenerated from a race of  
sturdy warriors and became more and more
 depraved physically1 the necessity for 
physicians made itself more evident4    

,court physicians1 and                  
physicians-in-ordinary1 were created by 
the emperors1 as were also city and     
district physicians4 ,in the year #acc  
,a4,d4 ,hadrian granted immunity from   
taxes and military service to physicians
 in recognition of their public         
services4  ,the city and district       
physicians1 known as the archiatri      
populaires1 treated and cared for the   
poor without remuneration1 having a     
position and salary fixed by law and    
paid them semi-annually4 ,these were    
honorable positions1 and the archiatri  
were obliged to give instruction in     
medicine1 without pay1 to the poor      
students4 ,they were allowed to receive 
fees and donations from their patients1 
but not1 however1 until the danger from 
the malady was past4 ,special laws were 
enacted to protect them1 and any person 
subjecting them to an insult was liable 
to a fine not exceeding one thousand    
pounds4  ,an example of ,roman          
practicality is shown in the method of  

treating hemorrhage1 as described by    
,aulus ,cornelius ,celsus 7#ec ,b4,c4 to
 #g ,a4,d474 ,hippocrates and           
,hippocratic writers treated hemorrhage 
by application of cold1 pressure1       
styptics1 and sometimes by actual       
cauterizing2 but they knew nothing of   
the simple method of stopping a         
hemorrhage by a ligature tied around the
 bleeding vessel4 ,celsus not only      
recommended tying the end of the injured
 vessel1 but describes the method of    
applying two ligatures before the artery
 is divided by the surgeon--a common    
practice among surgeons at the present  
time4 ,the cut is made between these    
two1 and thus hemorrhage is avoided from
 either end of the divided vessel4      
,another ,roman surgeon1 ,heliodorus1   
not only describes the use of the       
ligature in stopping hemorrhage1 but    
also the practice of torsion--twisting  
smaller vessels1 which causes their     
lining membrane to contract in a manner 
that produces coagulation and stops     

hemorrhage4 ,it is remarkable that so   
simple and practical a method as the use
 of the ligature in stopping hemorrhage 
could have gone out of use1 once it had 
been discovered2 but during the ,middle 
,ages it was almost entirely lost sight 
of1 and was not reintroduced until the  
time of ,ambroise ,pare1 in the         
sixteenth century4  ,even at a very     
early period the ,romans recognized the 
advantage of surgical methods on the    
field of battle4 ,each soldier was      
supplied with bandages1 and was probably
 instructed in applying them1 something 
in the same manner as is done now in all
 modern armies4 ,the ,romans also made  
use of military hospitals and had       
established a rude but very practical   
field-ambulance service4 ,in every troop
 or bandon of two or four hundred men1  
eight or ten stout fellows were deputed 
to ride immediately behind the          
fighting-line to pick up and rescue the 
wounded1 for which purpose their saddles
 had two stirrups on the left side1     

while they themselves were provided with
 water-flasks1 and perhaps applied      
temporary bandages4 ,they were          
encouraged by a reward of a piece of    
gold for each man they rescued4         
',noscomi' were male nurses attached to 
the military hospitals1 but not         
inscribed 'on strength' of the legions1 
and were probably for the most part of  
the servile class47#f7  ,from the time  
of the early ,alexandrians1 ,herophilus 
and ,erasistratus1 whose work we have   
already examined1 there had been various
 anatomists of some importance in the   
,alexandrian school1 though none quite  
equal to these earlier workers4 ,the    
best-known names are those of ,celsus   
7of whom we have already spoken71 who   
continued the work of anatomical        
investigation1 and ,marinus1 who lived  
during the reign of ,nero1 and ,rufus of
 ,ephesus4 ,probably all of these would 
have been better remembered by          
succeeding generations had their efforts
 not been eclipsed by those of ,galen4  

,this greatest of ancient anatomists was
 born at ,pergamus of ,greek parents4   
,his father1 ,nicon1 was an architect   
and a man of considerable ability4      
,until his fifteenth year the youthful  
,galen was instructed at home1 chiefly  
by his father2 but after that time he   
was placed under suitable teachers for  
instruction in the philosophical systems
 in vogue at that period4 ,shortly after
 this1 however1 the superstitious       
,nicon1 following the interpretations of
 a dream1 decided that his son should   
take up the study of medicine1 and      
placed him under the instruction of     
several learned physicians4  ,galen was 
a tireless worker1 making long tours    
into ,asia ,minor and ,palestine to     
improve himself in pharmacology1 and    
studying anatomy for some time at       
,alexandria4 ,he appears to have been   
full of the superstitions of the age1   
however1 and early in his career made an
 extended tour into western ,asia in    
search of the chimerical jet-stone--a   

stone possessing the peculiar qualities 
of burning with a bituminous odor and   
supposed to possess great potency in    
curing such diseases as epilepsy1       
hysteria1 and gout4  ,by the time he had
 reached his twenty-eighth year he had  
perfected his education in medicine and 
returned to his home in ,pergamus4 ,even
 at that time he had acquired           
considerable fame as a surgeon1 and his 
fellow-citizens showed their confidence 
in his ability by choosing him as       
surgeon to the wounded gladiators       
shortly after his return to his native  
city4 ,in these duties his knowledge of 
anatomy aided him greatly1 and he is    
said to have healed certain kinds of    
wounds that had previously baffled the  
surgeons4  ,in the time of ,galen       
dissections of the human body were      
forbidden by law1 and he was obliged to 
confine himself to dissections of the   
lower animals4 ,he had the advantage1   
however1 of the anatomical works of     
,herophilus and ,erasistratus1 and he   

must have depended upon them in         
perfecting his comparison between the   
anatomy of men and the lower animals4   
,it is possible that he did make human  
dissections surreptitiously1 but of this
 we have no proof4  ,he was familiar    
with the complicated structure of the   
bones of the cranium4 ,he described the 
vertebrae clearly1 divided them into    
groups1 and named them after the manner 
of anatomists of to-day4 ,he was less   
accurate in his description of the      
muscles1 although a large number of     
these were described by him4 ,like all  
anatomists before the time of ,harvey1  
he had a very erroneous conception of   
the circulation1 although he understood 
that the heart was an organ for the     
propulsion of blood1 and he showed that 
the arteries of the living animals did  
not contain air alone1 as was taught by 
many anatomists4 ,he knew1 also1 that   
the heart was made up of layers of      
fibres that ran in certain fixed        
directions--that is1 longitudinal1      

transverse1 and oblique2 but he did not 
recognize the heart as a muscular organ4
 ,in proof of this he pointed out that  
all muscles require rest1 and as the    
heart did not rest it could not be      
composed of muscular tissue4  ,many of  
his physiological experiments were      
conducted upon scientific principles4   
,thus he proved that certain muscles    
were under the control of definite sets 
of nerves by cutting these nerves in    
living animals1 and observing that the  
muscles supplied by them were rendered  
useless4 ,he pointed out also that      
nerves have no power in themselves1 but 
merely conduct impulses to and from the 
brain and spinal-cord4 ,he turned this  
peculiar knowledge to account in the    
case of a celebrated sophist1           
,pausanias1 who had been under the      
treatment of various physicians for a   
numbness in the fourth and fifth fingers
 of his left hand4 ,these physicians had
 been treating this condition by        
applications of poultices to the hand   

itself4 ,galen1 being called in         
consultation1 pointed out that the      
injury was probably not in the hand     
itself1 but in the ulner nerve1 which   
controls sensation in the fourth and    
fifth fingers4 ,surmising that the nerve
 must have been injured in some way1 he 
made careful inquiries of the patient1  
who recalled that he had been thrown    
from his chariot some time before1      
striking and injuring his back4 ,acting 
upon this information1 ,galen applied   
stimulating remedies to the source of   
the nerve itself--that is1 to the bundle
 of nerve-trunks known as the brachial  
plexus1 in the shoulder4 ,to the        
surprise and confusion of his           
fellow-physicians1 this method of       
treatment proved effective and the      
patient recovered completely in a short 
time4  ,although the functions of the   
organs in the chest were not well       
understood by ,galen1 he was well       
acquainted with their anatomy4 ,he knew 
that the lungs were covered by thin     

membrane1 and that the heart was        
surrounded by a sac of very similar     
tissue4 ,he made constant comparisons   
also between these organs in different  
animals1 as his dissections were        
performed upon beasts ranging in size   
from a mouse to an elephant4 ,the       
minuteness of his observations is shown 
by the fact that he had noted and       
described the ring of bone found in the 
hearts of certain animals1 such as the  
horse1 although not found in the human  
heart or in most animals4  ,his         
description of the abdominal organs was 
in general accurate4 ,he had noted that 
the abdominal cavity was lined with a   
peculiar saclike membrane1 the          
peritoneum1 which also surrounded most  
of the organs contained in the cavity1  
and he made special note that this      
membrane also enveloped the liver in a  
peculiar manner4 ,the exactness of the  
last observation seems the more         
wonderful when we reflect that even     
to-day the medical1 student finds a     

correct understanding of the position of
 the folds of the peritoneum one of the 
most difficult subjects in anatomy4  ,as
 a practical physician he was held in   
the highest esteem by the ,romans4 ,the 
,emperor ,marcus ,aurelius called him to
 ,rome and appointed him                
physician-inordinary to his son         
,commodus1 and on special occasions     
,marcus ,aurelius himself called in     
,galen as his medical adviser4 ,on one  
occasion1 the three army surgeons in    
attendance upon the emperor declared    
that he was about to be attacked by a   
fever4 ,galen relates how on special    
command ,i felt his pulse1 and finding  
it quite normal1 considering his age and
 the time of day1 ,i declared it was no 
fever but a digestive disorder1 due to  
the food he had eaten1 which must be    
converted into phlegm before being      
excreted4 ,then the emperor repeated    
three times1 ',that's the very thing1'  
and asked what was to be done4 ,i       
answered that ,i usually gave a glass of

 wine with pepper sprinkled on it1 but  
for you kings we only use the safest    
remedies1 and it will suffice to apply  
wool soaked in hot nard ointment        
locally4 ,the emperor ordered the wool1 
wine1 etc41 to be brought1 and ,i left  
the room4 ,his feet were warmed by      
rubbing with hot hands1 and after       
drinking the peppered wine1 he said to  
,pitholaus 7his son's tutor71 ',we have 
only one doctor1 and that an honest     
one1' and went on to describe me as the 
first of physicians and the only        
philosopher1 for he had tried many      
before who were not only lovers of      
money1 but also contentious1 ambitious1 
envious1 and malignant47#g7  ,it will be
 seen from this that ,galen had a full  
appreciation of his own abilities as a  
physician1 but inasmuch as succeeding   
generations for a thousand years        
concurred in the alleged statement made 
by ,marcus ,aurelius as to his ability1 
he is perhaps excusable for his open    
avowal of his belief in his powers4 ,his

 faith in his accuracy in diagnosis and 
prognosis was shown when a colleague    
once said to him1 ,i have used the      
prognostics of ,hippocrates as well as  
you4 ,why can ,i not prognosticate as   
well as you8 ,to this ,galen replied1   
,by ,god's help ,i have never been      
deceived in my prognosis47#h7 ,it is    
probable that this statement was made in
 the heat of argument1 and it is hardly 
to be supposed that he meant it         
literally4  ,his systems of treatment   
were far in advance of his theories     
regarding the functions of organs1      
causes of disease1 etc41 and some of    
them are still first principles with    
physicians4 ,like ,hippocrates1 he laid 
great stress on correct diet1 exercise1 
and reliance upon nature4 ,nature is the
 overseer by whom health is supplied to 
the sick1 he says4 ,nature lends her aid
 on all sides1 she decides and cures    
diseases4 ,no one can be saved unless   
nature conquers the disease1 and no one 
dies unless nature succumbs4  ,from the 

picture thus drawn of ,galen as an      
anatomist and physician1 one might infer
 that he should rank very high as a     
scientific exponent of medicine1 even in
 comparison with modern physicians4     
,there is1 however1 another side to the 
picture4 ,his knowledge of anatomy was  
certainly very considerable1 but many of
 his deductions and theories as to the  
functions of organs1 the cause of       
diseases1 and his methods of treating   
them1 would be recognized as absurd by a
 modern school-boy of average           
intelligence4 ,his greatness must be    
judged in comparison with ancient1 not  
with modern1 scientists4 ,he maintained1
 for example1 that respiration and the  
pulse-beat were for one and the same    
purpose--that of the reception of air   
into the arteries of the body4 ,to him  
the act of breathing was for the purpose
 of admitting air into the lungs1 whence
 it found its way into the heart1 and   
from there was distributed throughout   
the body by means of the arteries4 ,the 

skin also played an important part in   
supplying the body with air1 the pores  
absorbing the air and distributing it   
through the arteries4 ,but1 as we know  
that he was aware of the fact that the  
arteries also contained blood1 he must  
have believed that these vessels        
contained a mixture of the two4  ,modern
 anatomists know that the heart is      
divided into two approximately equal    
parts by an impermeable septum of tough 
fibres4 ,yet1 ,galen1 who dissected the 
hearts of a vast number of the lower    
animals according to his own account1   
maintained that this septum was         
permeable1 and that the air1 entering   
one side of the heart from the lungs1   
passed through it into the opposite side
 and was then transferred to the        
arteries4  ,he was equally at fault1    
although perhaps more excusably so1 in  
his explanation of the action of the    
nerves4 ,he had rightly pointed out that
 nerves were merely connections between 
the brain and spinal-cord and distant   

muscles and organs1 and had recognized  
that there were two kinds of nerves1 but
 his explanation of the action of these 
nerves was that nervous spirits were    
carried to the cavities of the brain by 
blood-vessels1 and from there           
transmitted through the body along the  
nerve-trunks4  ,in the human skull1     
overlying the nasal cavity1 there are   
two thin plates of bone perforated with 
numerous small apertures4 ,these        
apertures allow the passage of numerous 
nerve-filaments which extend from a     
group of cells in the brain to the      
delicate membranes in the nasal cavity4 
,these perforations in the bone1        
therefore1 are simply to allow the      
passage of the nerves4 ,but ,galen gave 
a very different explanation4 ,he       
believed that impure animal spirits were
 carried to the cavities of the brain by
 the arteries in the neck and from there
 were sifted out through these          
perforated bones1 and so expelled from  
the body4  ,he had observed that the    

skin played an important part in cooling
 the body1 but he seems to have believed
 that the heart was equally active in   
overheating it4 ,the skin1 therefore1   
absorbed air for the purpose of cooling 
the heart1 and this cooling process was 
aided by the brain1 whose secretions    
aided also in the cooling process4 ,the 
heart itself was the seat of courage2   
the brain the seat of the rational soul2
 and the liver the seat of love4  ,the  
greatness of ,galen's teachings lay in  
his knowledge of anatomy of the organs2 
his weakness was in his interpretations 
of their functions4 ,unfortunately1     
succeeding generations of physicians for
 something like a thousand years        
rejected the former but clung to the    
latter1 so that the advances he had made
 were completely overshadowed by the    
mistakes of his teachings4     ,,xi4 ,a 
,,retrospective ,,glance ,,at           
,,classical ,,science  ,it is a favorite
 tenet of the modern historian that     
history is a continuous stream4 ,the    

contention has fullest warrant4 ,sharp  
lines of demarcation are an evidence of 
man's analytical propensity rather than 
the work of nature4 ,nevertheless it    
would be absurd to deny that the stream 
of history presents an ever-varying     
current4 ,there are times when it seems 
to rush rapidly on2 times when it       
spreads out into a broad--seemingly     
static--current2 times when its         
catastrophic changes remind us of       
nothing but a gigantic cataract4 ,rapids
 and whirlpools1 broad estuaries and    
tumultuous cataracts are indeed part of 
the same stream1 but they are parts that
 vary one from another in their salient 
features in such a way as to force the  
mind to classify them as things apart   
and give them individual names4  ,so it 
is with the stream of history2 however  
strongly we insist on its continuity we 
are none the less forced to recognize   
its periodicity4 ,it may not be         
desirable to fix on specific dates as   
turning-points to the extent that our   

predecessors were wont to do4 ,we may   
not1 for example1 be disposed to admit  
that the ,roman ,empire came to any such
 cataclysmic finish as the year #dgf    
,a4,d41 when cited in connection with   
the overthrow of the last ,roman ,empire
 of the ,west1 might seem to indicate4  
,but1 on the other hand1 no student of  
the period can fail to realize that a   
great change came over the aspect of the
 historical stream towards the close of 
the ,roman epoch4  ,the span from       
,thales to ,galen has compassed about   
eight hundred years--let us say thirty  
generations4 ,throughout this period    
there is scarcely a generation that has 
not produced great scientific           
thinkers--men who have put their mark   
upon the progress of civilization2 but  
we shall see1 as we look forward for a  
corresponding period1 that the ensuing  
thirty generations produced scarcely a  
single scientific thinker of the first  
rank4 ,eight hundred years of           
intellectual activity--thirty           

generations of greatness2 then eight    
hundred years of stasis--thirty         
generations of mediocrity2 such seems to
 be the record as viewed in perspective4
 ,doubtless it seemed far different to  
the contemporary observer2 it is only in
 reasonable perspective that any scene  
can be viewed fairly4 ,but for us1      
looking back without prejudice across   
the stage of years1 it seems            
indisputable that a great epoch came to 
a close at about the time when the      
barbarian nations of ,europe began to   
sweep down into ,greece and ,italy4 ,we 
are forced to feel that we have reached 
the limits of progress of what          
historians are pleased to call the      
ancient world4 ,for about eight hundred 
years ,greek thought has been dominant1 
but in the ensuing period it is to play 
a quite subordinate part1 except in so  
far as it influences the thought of an  
alien race4 ,as we leave this classical 
epoch1 then1 we may well recapitulate in
 brief its triumphs4 ,a few words will  

suffice to summarize a story the details
 of which have made up our recent       
chapters4  ,in the field of cosmology1  
,greek genius has demonstrated that the 
earth is spheroidal1 that the moon is   
earthlike in structure and much smaller 
than our globe1 and that the sun is     
vastly larger and many times more       
distant than the moon4 ,the actual size 
of the earth and the angle of its axis  
with the ecliptic have been measured    
with approximate accuracy4 ,it has been 
shown that the sun and moon present     
inequalities of motion which may be     
theoretically explained by supposing    
that the earth is not situated precisely
 at the centre of their orbits4 ,a      
system of eccentrics and epicycles has  
been elaborated which serves to explain 
the apparent motions of the heavenly    
bodies in a manner that may be called   
scientific even though it is based1 as  
we now know1 upon a false hypothesis4   
,the true hypothesis1 which places the  
sun at the centre of the planetary      

system and postulates the orbital and   
axial motions of our earth in           
explanation of the motions of the       
heavenly bodies1 has been put forward   
and ardently championed1 but1           
unfortunately1 is not accepted by the   
dominant thinkers at the close of our   
epoch4 ,in this regard1 therefore1 a    
vast revolutionary work remains for the 
thinkers of a later period4 ,moreover1  
such observations as the precession of  
the equinoxes and the moon's evection   
are as yet unexplained1 and measurements
 of the earth's size1 and of the sun's  
size and distance1 are so crude and     
imperfect as to be in one case only an  
approximation1 and in the other an      
absurdly inadequate suggestion4 ,but    
with all these defects1 the total       
achievement of the ,greek astronomers is
 stupendous4 ,to have clearly grasped   
the idea that the earth is round is in  
itself an achievement that marks off the
 classical from the ,oriental period as 
by a great gulf4  ,in the physical      

sciences we have seen at least the      
beginnings of great things4 ,dynamics   
and hydrostatics may now1 for the first 
time1 claim a place among the sciences4 
,geometry has been perfected and        
trigonometry has made a sure beginning4 
,the conception that there are four     
elementary substances1 earth1 water1    
air1 and fire1 may not appear a secure  
foundation for chemistry1 yet it marks  
at least an attempt in the right        
direction4 ,similarly1 the conception   
that all matter is made up of           
indivisible particles and that these    
have adjusted themselves and are perhaps
 held in place by a whirling motion1    
while it is scarcely more than a        
scientific dream1 is1 after all1 a dream
 of marvellous insight4  ,in the field  
of biological science progress has not  
been so marked1 yet the elaborate       
garnering of facts regarding anatomy1   
physiology1 and the zoological sciences 
is at least a valuable preparation for  
the generalizations of a later time4    

,if with a map before us we glance at   
the portion of the globe which was known
 to the workers of the period now in    
question1 bearing in mind at the same   
time what we have learned as to the seat
 of labors of the various great         
scientific thinkers from ,thales to     
,galen1 we cannot fail to be struck with
 a rather startling fact1 intimations of
 which have been given from time to     
time--the fact1 namely1 that most of the
 great ,greek thinkers did not live in  
,greece itself4 ,as our eye falls upon  
,asia ,minor and its outlying islands1  
we reflect that here were born such men 
as ,thales1 ,anaximander1 ,anaximenes1  
,heraclitus1 ,pythagoras1 ,anaxagoras1  
,socrates1 ,aristarchus1 ,hipparchus1   
,eudoxus1 ,philolaus1 and ,galen4 ,from 
the northern shores of the aegean came  
,lucippus1 ,democritus1 and ,aristotle4 
,italy1 off to the west1 is the home of 
,pythagoras and ,xenophanes in their    
later years1 and of ,parmenides and     
,empedocles1 ,zeno1 and ,archimedes4    

,northern ,africa can claim1 by birth or
 by adoption1 such names as ,euclid1    
,apollonius of ,perga1 ,herophilus1     
,erasistratus1 ,aristippus1             
,eratosthenes1 ,ctesibius1 ,hero1       
,strabo1 and ,ptolemy4 ,this is but     
running over the list of great men whose
 discoveries have claimed our attention4
 ,were we to extend the list to include 
a host of workers of the second rank1 we
 should but emphasize the same fact4    
,all along we are speaking of ,greeks1  
or1 as they call themselves1 ,hellenes1 
and we mean by these words the people   
whose home was a small jagged peninsula 
jutting into the ,mediterranean at the  
southeastern extremity of ,europe4 ,we  
think of this peninsula as the home of  
,greek culture1 yet of all the great    
thinkers we have just named1 not one was
 born on this peninsula1 and perhaps not
 one in five ever set foot upon it4 ,in 
point of fact1 one ,greek thinker of the
 very first rank1 and one only1 was born
 in ,greece proper2 that one1 however1  

was ,plato1 perhaps the greatest of them
 all4 ,with this one brilliant exception
 7and even he was born of parents who   
came from the provinces71 all the great 
thinkers of ,greece had their origin at 
the circumference rather than the centre
 of the empire4 ,and if we reflect that 
this circumference of the ,greek world  
was in the nature of the case the widely
 circling region in which the ,greek    
came in contact with other nations1 we  
shall see at once that there could be no
 more striking illustration in all      
history than that furnished us here of  
the value of racial mingling as a       
stimulus to intellectual progress4  ,but
 there is one other feature of the      
matter that must not be overlooked4     
,racial mingling gives vitality1 but to 
produce the best effect the mingling    
must be that of races all of which are  
at a relatively high plane of           
civilization4 ,in ,asia ,minor the      
,greek mingled with the ,semite1 who had
 the heritage of centuries of culture2  

and in ,italy with the ,umbrians1       
,oscans1 and ,etruscans1 who1 little as 
we know of their antecedents1 have left 
us monuments to testify to their high   
development4 ,the chief reason why the  
racial mingling of a later day did not  
avail at once to give new life to ,roman
 thought was that the races which swept 
down from the north were barbarians4 ,it
 was no more possible that they should  
spring to the heights of classical      
culture than it would1 for example1 be  
possible in two or three generations to 
produce a racer from a stock of draught 
horses4 ,evolution does not proceed by  
such vaults as this would imply4 ,celt1 
,goth1 ,hun1 and ,slav must undergo     
progressive development for many        
generations before the population of    
northern ,europe can catch step with the
 classical ,greek and prepare to march  
forward4 ,that1 perhaps1 is one reason  
why we come to a period of stasis or    
retrogression when the time of classical
 activity is over4 ,but1 at best1 it is 

only one reason of several4  ,the       
influence of the barbarian nations will 
claim further attention as we proceed4  
,but now1 for the moment1 we must turn  
our eyes in the other direction and give
 attention to certain phases of ,greek  
and of ,oriental thought which were     
destined to play a most important part  
in the development of the ,western      
mind--a more important part1 indeed1 in 
the early mediaeval period than that    
played by those important inductions of 
science which have chiefly claimed our  
attention in recent chapters4 ,the      
subject in question is the old familiar 
one of false inductions or              
pseudoscience4 ,in dealing with the     
early development of thought and with   
,oriental science1 we had occasion to   
emphasize the fact that such false      
inductions led everywhere to the        
prevalence of superstition4 ,in dealing 
with ,greek science1 we have largely    
ignored this subject1 confining         
attention chiefly to the progressive    

phases of thought2 but it must not be   
inferred from this that ,greek science1 
with all its secure inductions1 was     
entirely free from superstition4 ,on the
 contrary1 the most casual acquaintance 
with ,greek literature would suffice to 
show the incorrectness of such a        
supposition4 ,true1 the great thinkers  
of ,greece were probably freer from this
 thraldom of false inductions than any  
of their predecessors4 ,even at a very  
early day such men as ,xenophanes1      
,empedocles1 ,anaxagoras1 and ,plato    
attained to a singularly rationalistic  
conception of the universe4  ,we saw    
that the father of medicine1            
,hippocrates1 banished demonology and   
conceived disease as due to natural     
causes4 ,at a slightly later day the    
sophists challenged all knowledge1 and  
,pyrrhonism became a synonym for        
scepticism in recognition of the        
leadership of a master doubter4 ,the    
entire school of ,alexandrians must have
 been relatively free from superstition1

 else they could not have reasoned with 
such effective logicality from their    
observations of nature4 ,it is almost   
inconceivable that men like ,euclid and 
,archimedes1 and ,aristarchus and       
,eratosthenes1 and ,hipparchus and      
,hero1 could have been the victims of   
such illusions regarding occult forces  
of nature as were constantly postulated 
by ,oriental science4 ,herophilus and   
,erasistratus and ,galen would hardly   
have pursued their anatomical studies   
with equanimity had they believed that  
ghostly apparitions watched over living 
and dead alike1 and exercised at will a 
malign influence4  ,doubtless the       
,egyptian of the period considered the  
work1 of the ,ptolemaic anatomists an   
unspeakable profanation1 and1 indeed1 it
 was nothing less than revolutionary--so
 revolutionary that it could not be     
sustained in subsequent generations4 ,we
 have seen that the great ,galen1 at    
,rome1 five centuries after the time of 
,herophilus1 was prohibited from        

dissecting the human subject4 ,the fact 
speaks volumes for the attitude of the  
,roman mind towards science4 ,vast      
audiences made up of every stratum of   
society thronged the amphitheatre1 and  
watched exultingly while man slew his   
fellow-man in single or in multiple     
combat4 ,shouts of frenzied joy burst   
from a hundred thousand throats when the
 death-stroke was given to a new victim4
 ,the bodies of the slain1 by scores1   
even by hundreds1 were dragged          
ruthlessly from the arena and hurled    
into a ditch as contemptuously as if    
pity were yet unborn and human life the 
merest bauble4 ,yet the same eyes that  
witnessed these scenes with ecstatic    
approval would have been averted in     
pious horror had an anatomist dared to  
approach one of the mutilated bodies    
with the scalpel of science4 ,it was    
sport to see the blade of the gladiator 
enter the quivering1 living flesh of his
 fellow-gladiator2 it was joy to see the
 warm blood spurt forth from the        

writhing victim while he still lived2   
but it were sacrilegious to approach    
that body with the knife of the         
anatomist1 once it had ceased to pulsate
 with life4 ,life itself was held       
utterly in contempt1 but about the realm
 of death hovered the threatening ghosts
 of superstition4 ,and such1 be it      
understood1 was the attitude of the     
,roman populace in the early and the    
most brilliant epoch of the empire1     
before the ,western world came under the
 influence of that ,oriental philosophy 
which was presently to encompass it4    
,in this regard the ,alexandrian world  
was1 as just intimated1 far more        
advanced than the ,roman1 yet even there
 we must suppose that the leaders of    
thought were widely at variance with the
 popular conceptions4 ,a few            
illustrations1 drawn from ,greek        
literature at various ages1 will suggest
 the popular attitude4 ,in the first    
instance1 consider the poems of ,homer  
and of ,hesiod4 ,for these writers1 and 

doubtless for the vast majority of their
 readers1 not merely of their own but of
 many subsequent generations1 the world 
is peopled with a multitude of invisible
 apparitions1 which1 under title of     
gods1 are held to dominate the affairs  
of man4 ,it is sometimes difficult to   
discriminate as to where the ,greek     
imagination drew the line between fact  
and allegory2 nor need we attempt to    
analyse the early poetic narratives to  
this end4 ,it will better serve our     
present purpose to cite three or four   
instances which illustrate the          
tangibility of beliefs based upon       
pseudo-scientific inductions4  ,let us  
cite1 for example1 the account which    
,herodotus gives us of the actions of   
the ,greeks at ,plataea1 when their army
 confronted the remnant of the army of  
,xerxes1 in the year #dgi ,b4,c4 ,here  
we see each side hesitating to attack   
the other1 merely because the oracle had
 declared that whichever side struck the
 first blow would lose the conflict4    

,even after the ,persian soldiers1 who  
seemingly were a jot less superstitious 
or a shade more impatient than their    
opponents1 had begun the attack1 we are 
told that the ,greeks dared not respond 
at first1 though they were falling      
before the javelins of the enemy1       
because1 forsooth1 the entrails of a    
fowl did not present an auspicious      
appearance4 ,and these were ,greeks of  
the same generation with ,empedocles and
 ,anaxagoras and aeschylus2 of the same 
epoch with ,pericles and ,sophocles and 
,euripides and ,phidias4 ,such was the  
scientific status of the average        
mind--nay1 of the best minds--with here 
and there a rare exception1 in the      
golden age of ,grecian culture4  ,were  
we to follow down the pages of ,greek   
history1 we should but repeat the same  
story over and over4 ,we should1 for    
example1 see ,alexander the ,great      
balked at the banks of the ,hyphasis1   
and forced to turn back because of      
inauspicious auguries based as before   

upon the dissection of a fowl4          
,alexander himself1 to be sure1 would   
have scorned the augury2 had he been the
 prey of such petty superstitions he    
would never have conquered ,asia4 ,we   
know how he compelled the oracle at     
,delphi to yield to his wishes2 how he  
cut the ,gordian knot2 how he made his  
dominating personality felt at the      
temple of ,ammon in ,egypt4 ,we know1 in
 a word1 that he yielded to             
superstitions only in so far as they    
served his purpose4 ,left to his own    
devices1 he would not have consulted an 
oracle at the banks of the ,hyphasis2   
or1 consulting1 would have forced from  
the oracle a favorable answer4 ,but his 
subordinates were mutinous and he had no
 choice4 ,suffice it for our present    
purpose that the oracle was consulted1  
and that its answer turned the conqueror
 back4  ,one or two instances from      
,roman history may complete the picture4
 ,passing over all those mythical       
narratives which virtually constitute   

the early history of ,rome1 as preserved
 to us by such historians as ,livy and  
,dionysius1 we find so logical an       
historian as ,tacitus recording a       
miraculous achievement of ,vespasian    
without adverse comment4 ,during the    
months when ,vespasian was waiting at   
,alexandria for the periodical season of
 the summer winds1 and a safe           
navigation1 many miracles occurred by   
which the favor of ,heaven and a sort of
 bias in the powers above towards       
,vespasian were manifested4 ,tacitus    
then describes in detail the cure of    
various maladies by the emperor1 and    
relates that the emperor on visiting a  
temple was met there1 in the spirit1 by 
a prominent ,egyptian who was proved to 
be at the same time some eighty miles   
distant from ,alexandria4  ,it must be  
admitted that ,tacitus1 in relating that
 ,vespasian caused the blind to see and 
the lame to walk1 qualifies his         
narrative by asserting that persons who 
are present attest the truth of the     

transaction when there is nothing to be 
gained by falsehood4 ,nor must we       
overlook the fact that a similar belief 
in the power of royalty has persisted   
almost to our own day4 ,but no such     
savor of scepticism attaches to a       
narrative which ,dion ,cassius gives us 
of an incident in the life of ,marcus   
,aurelius--an incident that has become  
famous as the episode of ,the           
,thundering ,legion4 ,xiphilinus has    
preserved the account of ,dion1 adding  
certain picturesque interpretations of  
his own4 ,the original narrative1 as    
cited1 asserts that during one of the   
northern campaigns of ,marcus ,aurelius1
 the emperor and his army were          
surrounded by the hostile ,quadi1 who   
had every advantage of position and who 
presently ceased hostilities in the hope
 that heat and thirst would deliver     
their adversaries into their hands      
without the trouble of further fighting4
 ,now1 says ,dion1 while the ,romans1   
unable either to combat or to retreat1  

and reduced to the last extremity by    
wounds1 fatigue1 heat1 and thirst1 were 
standing helplessly at their posts1     
clouds suddenly gathered in great number
 and rain descended in floods--certainly
 not without divine intervention1 since 
the ,egyptian ,maege ,arnulphis1 who was
 with ,marcus ,antoninus1 is said to    
have invoked several genii by the aerial
 mercury by enchantment1 and thus       
through them had brought down rain4     
,here1 it will be observed1 a           
supernatural explanation is given of a  
natural phenomenon4 ,but the narrator   
does not stop with this4 ,if we are to  
accept the account of ,xiphilinus1 ,dion
 brings forward some striking proofs of 
divine interference4 ,xiphilinus gives  
these proofs in the following remarkable
 paragraph3  ,dion adds that when the   
rain began to fall every soldier lifted 
his head towards heaven to receive the  
water in his mouth2 but afterwards      
others hold out their shields or their  
helmets to catch the water for          

themselves and for their horses4 ,being 
set upon by the barbarians444 while     
occupied in drinking1 they would have   
been seriously incommoded had not heavy 
hail and numerous thunderbolts thrown   
consternation into the ranks of the     
enemy4 ,fire and water were seen to     
mingle as they left the heavens4 ,the   
fire1 however1 did not reach the        
,romans1 but if it did by chance touch  
one of them it was immediately          
extinguished1 while at the same time the
 rain1 instead of comforting the        
barbarians1 seemed merely to excite like
 oil the fire with which they were being
 consumed4 ,some barbarians inflicted   
wounds upon themselves as though their  
blood had power to extinguish flames1   
while many rushed over to the side of   
the ,romans1 hoping that there water    
might save them4  ,we cannot better     
complete these illustrations of pagan   
credulity than by adding the comment of 
,xiphilinus himself4 ,that writer was a 
,christian1 living some generations     

later than ,dion4 ,he never thought of  
questioning the facts1 but he felt that 
,dion's interpretation of these facts   
must not go unchallenged4 ,as he        
interprets the matter1 it was no pagan  
magician that wrought the miracle4 ,he  
even inclines to the belief that ,dion  
himself was aware that ,christian       
interference1 and not that of an        
,egyptian1 saved the day4 ,dion knew1 he
 declares1 that there existed a legion  
called ,the ,thundering ,legion1 which  
name was given it for no other reason   
than for what came to pass in this war1 
and that this legion was composed of    
soldiers from ,militene who were all    
professed ,christians4 ,during the      
battle1 continues ,xiphilinus1 the chief
 of the ,pretonians1 had set at ,marcus 
,antoninus1 who was in great perplexity 
at the turn events were taking1         
representing to him that there was      
nothing the people called ,christians   
could not obtain by their prayers1 and  
that among his forces was a troop       

composed wholly of followers of that    
religion4 ,rejoiced at this news1       
,marcus ,antoninus demanded of these    
soldiers that they should pray to their 
god1 who granted their petition on the  
instant1 sent lightning among the enemy 
and consoled the ,romans with rain4     
,struck by this wonderful success1 the  
emperor honored the ,christians in an   
edict and named their legion ,the       
,thundering4 ,it is even asserted that a
 letter existed by ,marcus ,antoninus on
 this subject4 ,the pagans well knew    
that the company was called ,the        
,thunderers1 having attested the fact   
themselves1 but they revealed nothing of
 the occasion on which the leader       
received the name47#a7  ,peculiar       
interest attaches to this narrative as  
illustrating both credulousness as to   
matters of fact and pseudo-scientific   
explanation of alleged facts4 ,the      
modern interpreter may suppose that a   
violent thunderstorm came up during the 
course of a battle between the ,romans  

and the so-called barbarians1 and that  
owing to the local character of the     
storm1 or a chance discharge of         
lightning1 the barbarians suffered more 
than their opponents4 ,we may well      
question whether the philosophical      
emperor himself put any other           
interpretation than this upon the       
incident4 ,but1 on the other hand1 we   
need not doubt that the major part of   
his soldiers would very readily accept  
such an explanation as that given by    
,dion ,cassius1 just as most readers of 
a few centuries later would accept the  
explanation of ,xiphilinus4 ,it is well 
to bear this thought in mind in         
considering the static period of science
 upon which we are entering4 ,we shall  
perhaps best understand this period1 and
 its seeming retrogressions1 if we      
suppose that the average man of the     
,middle ,ages was no more credulous1 no 
more superstitious1 than the average    
,roman of an earlier period or than the 
average ,greek2 though the precise      

complexion of his credulity had changed 
under the influence of ,oriental ideas1 
as we have just seen illustrated by the 
narrative of ,xiphilinus4     ,,appendix
  ,,reference ,,list1 ,,notes1 ,,and    
,,bibliographies    ,,chapter ,i4       
,,prehistoric ,,science  ,length of the 
,prehistoric ,period4--,it is of course 
quite impossible to reduce the          
prehistoric period to any definite      
number of years4 ,there are1 however1   
numerous bits of evidence that enable an
 anthropologist to make rough estimates 
as to the relative lengths of the       
different periods into which prehistoric
 time is divided4 ,gabriel de           
,mortillet1 one of the most industrious 
students of prehistoric archaeology1    
ventured to give a tentative estimate as
 to the numbers of years involved in    
each period4 ,he of course claimed for  
this nothing more than the value of a   
scientific guess4 ,it is1 however1 a    
guess based on a very careful study of  
all data at present available4          

,mortillet divides the prehistoric      
period1 as a whole1 into four epochs4   
,the first of these is the preglacial1  
which he estimates as comprising        
seventy-eight thousand years2 the second
 is the glacial1 covering one hundred   
thousand years2 then follows what he    
terms the ,solutreen1 which numbers     
eleven thousand years2 and1 finally1 the
 ,magdalenien1 comprising thirty-three  
thousand years4 ,this gives1 for the    
prehistoric period proper1 a term of    
about two hundred and twenty-two        
thousand years4 ,add to this perhaps    
twelve thousand years ushering in the   
civilization of ,egypt1 and the six     
thousand years of stable1 sure          
chronology of the historical period1 and
 we have something like two hundred and 
thirty thousand or two hundred and forty
 thousand years as the age of man4      
,these figures1 says ,mortillet1 are    
certainly not exaggerated4 ,it is even  
probable that they are below the truth4 
,constantly new discoveries are being   

made that tend to remove farther back   
the date of man's appearance4 ,we see1  
then1 according to this estimate1 that  
about a quarter of a million years have 
elapsed since man evolved to a state    
that could properly be called human4    
,this guess is as good as another1 and  
it may advantageously be kept in mind1  
as it will enable us all along to       
understand better than we might         
otherwise be able to do the tremendous  
force of certain prejudices and         
preconceptions which recent man         
inherited from his prehistoric ancestor4
 ,ideas which had passed current as     
unquestioned truths for one hundred     
thousand years or so are not easily cast
 aside4  ,in going back1 in imagination1
 to the beginning of the prehistoric    
period1 we must of course reflect1 in   
accordance with modern ideas on the     
subject1 that there was no year1 no     
millennium even1 when it could be said  
expressly3 ,this being was hitherto a   
primate1 he is now a man4 ,the          

transition period must have been        
enormously long1 and the changes from   
generation to generation1 even from     
century to century1 must have been very 
slight4 ,in speaking of the extent of   
the age of man this must be borne in    
mind3 it must be recalled that1 even if 
the period were not vague for other     
reasons1 the vagueness of its beginning 
must make it indeterminate4             
,bibliographical ,notes4--,a great mass 
of literature has been produced in      
recent years dealing with various phases
 of the history of prehistoric man4 ,no 
single work known to the writer deals   
comprehensively with the scientific     
attainments of early man2 indeed1 the   
subject is usually ignored1 except where
 practical phases of the mechanical arts
 are in question4 ,but of course any    
attempt to consider the condition of    
primitive man talies into account1 by   
inference at least1 his knowledge and   
attainments4 ,therefore1 most works on  
anthropology1 ethnology1 and primitive  

culture may be expected to throw some   
light on our present subject4 ,works    
dealing with the social and mental      
conditions of existing savages are also 
of importance1 since it is now an       
accepted belief that the ancestors of   
civilized races evolved along similar   
lines and passed through corresponding  
stages of nascent culture4 ,herbert     
,spencer's ,descriptive ,sociology      
presents an unequalled mass of facts    
regarding existing primitive races1 but1
 unfortunately1 its inartistic method of
 arrangement makes it repellent to the  
general reader4 ,e4 ,b4 ,tyler's        
,primitive ,culture and ,anthropology2  
,lord ,avebury's ,prehistoric ,times1   
,the ,origin of ,civilization1 and ,the 
,primitive ,condition of ,man2 ,w4 ,boyd
 ,dawkin's ,cave-,hunting and ,early    
,man in ,britain2 and ,edward ,clodd's  
,childhood of the ,world and ,story of  
,primitive ,man are deservedly popular4 
,paul ,topinard's ,elements             
d',anthropologie ,generale is one of the

 best-known and most comprehensive      
,french works on the technical phases of
 anthropology2 but ,mortillet's ,le     
,prehistorique has a more popular       
interest1 owing to its chapters on      
primitive industries1 though this work  
also contains much that is rather       
technical4 ,among periodicals1 the      
,revue de l',ecole d',anthropologie de  
,paris1 published by the professors1    
treats of all phases of anthropology1   
and the ,american ,anthropologist1      
edited by ,f4 ,w4 ,hodge for the        
,american ,anthropological ,association1
 and intended as a medium of            
communication between students of all   
branches of anthropology1 contains much 
that is of interest from the present    
stand-point4 ,the last-named journal    
devotes a good deal of space to ,indian 
languages4   ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,egyptian 
,,science  #a 7p4 #cd74 ,sir ,j4 ,norman
 ,lockyer1 ,the ,dawn of ,astronomy2 a  
study of the temple worship and         
mythology of the ancient ,egyptians1    

,london1 #ahid4  #b 7p4 #dc74 ,g4       
,maspero1 ,histoire ,ancie-nne des      
,peuples de l',orient ,classique1       
,paris1 #ahie4 ,translated as 7#a7 ,the 
,dawn of ,civilization1 7#b7 ,the       
,struggle of the ,nations1 7#c7 ,the    
,passing of the ,empires1 #c vols41     
,london and ,new ,york1 #ahid-aijj4     
,professor ,maspero is one of the most  
famous of living ,orientalists4 ,his    
most important special studies have to  
do with ,egyptology1 but his writings   
cover the entire field of ,oriental     
antiquity4 ,he is a notable stylist1 and
 his works are at once readable and     
authoritative4  #c 7p4 #dd74 ,adolf     
,erman1 ,life in ,ancient ,egypt1       
,london1 #ahid1 p4 #ceb4 7,translated   
from the original ,german work entitled 
,aegypten und aegyptisches ,leben in    
,alterthum1 ,tilbigen1 #ahhg47 ,an      
altogether admirable work1 full of      
interest for the general reader1 though 
based on the most erudite studies4  #d  
7p4 #dg74 ,erman1 op4 cit41 pp4 #cef1   

#ceg4  #e 7p4 #dh74 ,erman1 op4 cit41 p4
 #ceg4 ,the work on ,egyptian medicine  
here referred to is ,georg ,ebers'      
edition of an ,egyptian document        
discovered by the explorer whose name it
 bears4 ,it remains the most important  
source of our knowledge of ,egyptian    
medicine4 ,as mentioned in the text1    
this document dates from the eighteenth 
dynasty--that is to say1 from about the 
fifteenth or sixteenth century1 ,b4,c41 
a relatively late period of ,egyptian   
history4  #f 7p4 #di74 ,erman1 op4 cit41
 p4 #ceg4  #g 7p4 #ej74 ,the ,history of
 ,herodotus1 pp4 #he-ij4 ,there are     
numerous translations of the famous work
 of the father of history1 one of the   
most recent and authoritative being that
 of ,g4 ,c4 ,macaulay1 ,m4,a41 in two   
volumes1 ,macmillan  ,co41 ,london and  
,new ,york1 #ahij4  #h 7p4 #ej74 ,the   
,historical ,library of ,diodorus the   
,sicilian1 ,london1 #agjj4 ,this most   
famous of ancient world histories is    
difficult to obtain in an ,english      

version4 ,the most recently published   
translation known to the writer is that 
of ,g4 ,booth1 ,london1 #ahad4  #i 7p4  
#ea74 ,erman1 op4 cit41 p4 #ceg4  #aj   
7p4 #eb74 ,the ,papyrus ,rhind is a sort
 of mathematical hand-book of the       
ancient ,egyptians2 it was made in the  
time of the ,hyksos ,kings 7about #bjjj 
,b4,c471 but is a copy of an older book4
 ,it is now preserved in the ,british   
,museum4  ,the most accessible recent   
sources of information as to the social 
conditions of the ancient ,egyptians are
 the works of ,maspero and ,erman1 above
 mentioned2 and the various publications
 of ,w4 ,m4 ,flinders ,petrie1 ,the     
,pyramids and ,temples of ,gizeh1       
,london1 #ahhc2 ,tanis ,i41 ,london1    
#ahhe2 ,tanis ,h41 ,nebesheh1 and       
,defe-nnel1 ,london1 #ahhg2 ,ten ,years'
 ,diggings1 ,london1 #ahib2 ,syria and  
,egypt from the ,tel-el-,amar-na        
,letters1 ,london1 #ahih1 etc4 ,the     
various works of ,professor ,petrie1    
recording his explorations from year to 

year1 give the fullest available insight
 into ,egyptian archaeology4  ,,chapter 
,,iii4 ,,science ,,of ,,babylonia ,,and 
,,assyria  #a 7p4 #eg74 ,the ,medes4    
,some difference of opinion exists among
 historians as to the exact ethnic      
relations of the conquerors2 the precise
 date of the fall of ,nineveh is also in
 doubt4  #b 7p4 #eg74 ,darius4 ,the     
familiar ,hebrew narrative ascribes the 
first ,persian conquest of ,babylon to  
,darius1 but inscriptions of ,cyrus and 
of ,nabonidus1 the ,babylonian king1    
make it certain that ,cyrus was the real
 conqueror4 ,these inscriptions are     
preserved on cylinders of baked clay1 of
 the type made familiar by the          
excavation of the past fifty years1 and 
they are invaluable historical          
documents4  #c 7p4 #eh74 ,berosus4 ,the 
fragments of ,berosus have been         
translated by ,l4 ,p4 ,cory1 and        
included in his ,ancient ,fragments of  
,phenician1 ,chaldean1 ,egyptian1 and   
,other ,writers1 ,london1 #ahbf1 second 

edition1 #ahcb4  #d 7p4 #eh74 ,chaldean 
learning4 ,recent writers reserve the   
name ,chaldean for the later period of  
,babylonian history--the time when the  
,greeks came in contact with the        
,mesopotamians--in contradistinction to 
the earlier periods which are revealed  
to us by the archaeological records4  #e
 7p4 #ei7 ,king ,sargon of ,agade4 ,the 
date given for this early king must not 
be accepted as absolute2 but it is      
probably approximately correct4  #f 7p4 
#ei74 ,nippur4 ,see the account of the  
early expeditions as recorded by the    
director1 ,dr4 ,john ,p4 ,peters1       
,nippur1 or explorations and adventures1
 etc41 ,new ,york and ,london1 #ahig4   
#g 7p4 #fb74 ,fritz ,hommel1 ,geschichte
 ,babyloniens und ,assyriens1 ,berlin1  
#ahhe4  #h 7p4 #fc74 ,r4 ,campbell      
,thompson1 ,reports of the ,magicians   
and ,astrologers of ,nineveh and        
,babylon1 ,london1 #aijj1 p4 xix4  #i   
7p4 #fd74 ,george ,smith1 ,the ,assyrian
 ,canon1 p4 #ba4  #aj 7p4 #fd74         

,thompson1 op4 cit41 p4 xix4  #aa 7p4   
#fe74 ,thompson1 op4 cit41 p4 #b4  #ab  
7p4 #fg74 ,thompson1 op4 cit41 p4 xvi4  
#ac 7p4 #fh74 ,sextus ,empiricus1 author
 of ,adversus ,mathematicos1 lived about
 #bjj ,a4,d4  #ad 7p4 #fh74 ,r4         
,campbell ,thompson1 op4 cit41 p4 xxiv4 
#ae 7p4 #gb74 ,records of the ,past     
7editor1 ,samuel ,birch71 ,vol4 ,,iii41 
p4 #aci4  #af 7p4 #gb74 ,ibid41 ,vol4   
,v41 p4 #af4  #ag 7p4 #gb74 ,quoted in  
,records of the ,past1 ,vol4 ,,iii41 p4 
#adc1 from the ,translations of the     
,society of ,biblical ,archeology1 vol4 
,,ii41 p4 #eh4  #ah 7p4 #gc74 ,records  
of the ,past1 vol4 ,l1 p4 #aca4  #ai 7p4
 #gc74 ,ibid41 vol4 ,v41 p4 #aga4  #bj  
7p4 #gd74 ,ibid41 vol4 ,v41 p4 #afi4    
#ba 7p4 #gd74 ,joachim ,menant1 ,la     
,bibliotheque du ,palais de ,ninive1    
,paris1 #ahhj4  #bb 7p4 #gf74 ,code of  
,khamurabi4 ,this famous inscription is 
on a block of black diorite nearly eight
 feet in height4 ,it was discovered at  
,susa by the ,french expedition under   

,m4 de ,morgan1 in ,december1 #aijb4 ,we
 quote the translation given in ,the    
,historians' ,history of the ,world1    
edited by ,henry ,smith ,williams1      
,london and ,new ,york1 #aijd1 ,vol4 ,i1
 p4 #eaj4  #bc 7p4 #gg74 ,the           
,historical ,library of ,diodorus       
,siculus1 p4 #eai4  #bd 7p4 #hb74       
,george ,s4 ,goodspeed1 ,ph4,d41        
,history of the ,babylonians and        
,assyrians1 ,new ,york1 #aijb4  #be 7p4 
#hb74 ,george ,rawlinson1 ,great        
,oriental ,monarchies1 7second edition1 
,london1 #ahga71 ,vol4 ,,iii41 pp4 #ge  
ff4  ,of the books mentioned above1 that
 of ,hommel is particularly full in     
reference to culture development2       
,goodspeed's small volume gives an      
excellent condensed account2 the        
original documents as translated in the 
various volumes of ,records of the ,past
 are full of interest2 and ,menant's    
little book is altogether admirable4    
,the work of excavation is still going  
on in old ,babylonia1 and newly         

discovered texts add from time to time  
to our knowledge1 but ,a4 ,h4 ,layard's 
,nineveh and its ,remains 7,london1     
#ahdi7 still has importance as a record 
of the most important early discoveries4
 ,the general histories of ,antiquity of
 ,duncker1 ,lenormant1 ,maspero1 and    
,meyer give full treatment of           
,babylonian and ,assyrian development4  
,special histories of ,babylonia and    
,assyria1 in addition to these named    
above1 are ,tiele's                     
,babylonisch-,assyrische ,geschichte    
7,zwei ,tiele1 ,gotha1 #ahhf-ahhh72     
,winckler's ,geschichte ,babyloniens und
 ,assyriens 7,berlin1 #ahhe-ahhh71 and  
,rogers' ,history of ,babylonia and     
,assyria1 ,new ,york and ,london1 #aijj1
 the last of which1 however1 deals      
almost exclusively with political       
history4 ,certain phases of science1    
particularly with reference to          
chronology and cosmology1 are treated by
 ,edward ,meyer 7,geschichte des        
,alterthum1 ,vol4 ,i41 ,stuttgart1      

#ahhd71 and by ,p4 ,jensen 7,die        
,kosmologie der ,babylonier1            
,strassburg1 #ahij71 but no             
comprehensive specific treatment of the 
subject in its entirety has yet been    
attempted4  ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the       
,,development ,,of ,,the ,,alphabet  #a 
7p4 #hg74 ,vicomte ,e4 de ,rouge1       
,memoire sur l',origine ,egyptienne de  
l',alphabet ,phinicien1 ,paris1 #ahgd4  
#b 7p4 #hh74 ,see the various           
publications of ,mr4 ,arthur ,evans4  #c
 7p4 #hj74 ,aztec and ,maya writing4    
,these pictographs are still in the main
 undecipherable1 and opinions differ as 
to the exact stage of development which 
they represent4  #d 7p4 #ij74 ,e4 ,a4   
,wallace ,budge's ,first ,steps in      
,egyptian1 ,london1 #ahie1 is an        
excellent elementary work on the        
,egyptian writing4 ,professor ,erman's  
,egyptian ,grammar1 ,london1 #ahid1 is  
the work of perhaps the foremost living 
,egyptologist4  #e 7,p4 #ic74 ,extant   
examples of ,babylonian and ,assyrian   

writing give opportunity to compare     
earlier and later systems1 so the fact  
of evolution from the pictorial to the  
phonetic system rests on something more 
than mere theory4  #f 7p4 #if74         
,friedrich ,delitzsch1 ,assyrischc      
,lesestucke mit grammatischen ,tabellen 
und vollstdndigem ,glossar einfiihrung  
in die assyrische und babylonische      
,keilschrift-litteratur bis hinauf zu   
,hammurabi1 ,leipzig1 #aijj4  #g 7p4    
#ig74 ,it does not appear that the      
,babylonians thcmselves ever gave up the
 old system of writing1 so long as they 
retained political autonomy4  #h 7p4    
#aja74 ,see ,isaac ,taylor's ,history of
 the ,alphabet2 an ,account of the      
origin and ,development of ,letters1 new
 edition1 #b vols41 ,london1 #ahii4     
,for facsimiles of the various scripts1 
see ,henry ,smith ,williams' ,history of
 the ,art ,of ,writing1 #d vols1 ,new   
,york and ,london1 #aijb-aijc4          
,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,beginnings ,,of   
,,greek ,,science  #a 7p4 ,,iii74       

,anaximander1 as recorded by ,plutarch1 
vol4 ,,viii-4 ,see ,arthur              
,fairbanks',first ,philosophers of      
,greece3 an ,edition and ,translation of
 the ,remaining ,fragments of the       
,pre-,socratic ,philosophers1 together  
with a ,translation of the more         
,important ,accounts of their ,opinions 
,contained in the ,early ,epitomcs of   
their ,works1 ,london1 #ahih4 ,this     
highly scholarly and extremely useful   
book contains the ,greek text as well as
 translations4  ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the   
,,early ,,greek ,,philosophers ,,in     
,,italy  #a 7p4 #aag74 ,george ,henry   
,lewes1 ,a ,biographical ,history of    
,philosophy from its ,origin in ,greece 
down to the ,present ,day1 enlarged     
edition1 ,new ,york1 #ahhh1 p4 #ag4  #b 
7p4 #aba74 ,diogenes ,laertius1 ,the    
,lives and ,opinions of ,eminent        
,philosophers1 ,c4 ,d4 ,yonge's         
translation1 ,london1 #ahec1 ,,viii41 p4
 #aec4  #c 7p4 #aba74 ,alexander1       
,successions of ,philosophers4  #d 7p4  

#abb74 ,all over its centre4 ,presumably
 this is intended to refer to the entire
 equatorial region4  #e 7p4 #abe74      
,laertius1 op4 cit41 pp4 #cdh-cea4  #f  
7p4 #abh74 ,arthur ,fairbanks1 ,the     
,first ,philosophers of ,greece ,london1
 #ahih1 pp4 #fg-gag4  #g 7p4 #abi74     
,ibid41 p4 #hch4  #h 7p4 #acj74 ,ibid41 
p4 #aji4  #i 7p4 #acj74 ,heinrich       
,ritter1 ,the ,history of ,ancient      
,philosophy1 translated from the ,german
 by ,a4 ,j4 ,w4 ,morrison1 #d vols41    
,london1 #ahch1 vol1 ,i41 p4 #dfc4  #aj 
7p4 #aca74 ,ibid41 p4 #dfe4  #aa 7p4    
#acb74 ,george ,henry ,lewes1 op4 cit41 
p4 #ha4  #ab 7p4 #ace74 ,fairbanks1 op4 
cit41 p4 #bja4  #ac 7p4 #acf74 ,ibid41  
,p4 #bcd4  #ad 7p4 #acg74 ,ibid41 p4    
#ahi4  #ae 7p4 #acg74 ,ibid41 ,p4 #bbj4 
#af 7p4 #ach74 ,ibid41 p4 #ahi4  #ag 7p4
 #ach74 ,ibid41 p4 #aia4  ,,chapter     
,,vii4 ,,greek ,,science ,,in ,,the     
,,early ,,attic ,,period  #a 7p4 #aej74 
,theodor ,gomperz1 ,greek ,thinkers3 a  
,history of ,ancient ,philosophy        

7translated from the ,german by ,laurie 
,magnes71 ,new ,york1 #aij #a1 pp4 #bbj1
 #bba4  #b 7p4 #aec74 ,aristotle's      
,treatise on ,respiration1 ch4 ii4  #c  
7p4 #aei74 ,fairbanks' translation of   
the fragments of ,anaxagoras1 in ,the   
,first ,philosophers of ,greece1 pp4    
#bci-bdc4  ,,chapter ,,viii4            
,,post-,,socratic ,,science ,,at        
,,athens  #a 7p4 #ahj74 ,alfred ,william
 ,bern1 ,the ,philosophy of ,greece     
,considered in ,relation to the         
,character and ,history of its ,people1 
,london1 #ahih1 p4 #ahf4  #b 7p4 #ahc74 
,aristotle1 quoted in ,william          
,whewell's ,history of the ,inductive   
,sciences 7second edition1 ,london1     
#ahdg71 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #afa4  ,,chapter
 ,,ix4 ,,greek ,,science ,,of ,,the     
,,alexandrian ,,or ,,hellenistic        
,,period  #a 7p4 #aie74 ,tertullian's   
,apologeticus4  #b 7p4 #bje74 ,we quote 
the quaint old translation of ,north1   
printed in #afeg4  ,,chapter ,x4        
,,science ,,of ,,the ,,roman ,,period   

#a 7p4 #beh74 ,the ,geography of        
,strabo1 translated by ,h4 ,c4 ,hamilton
 and ,w4 ,falconer1 #c vols41 ,london1  
#aheg1 ,vol4 ,i1 pp4 #ai1 #bj4  #b 7p4  
#bfj74 ,ibid41 p4 #aed4  #c 7p4 #bfc74  
,ibid41 pp4 #afi1 #agj4  #d 7p4 #bfd7   
,ibid41 pp4 #aff1 #afg4  #e 7p4 #bga74  
,k4 #j4 ,miller and ,john ,w4           
,donaldson1 ,the ,history of the        
,literature of ,greece1 #c vols41       
,london1 ,vol4 ,,iii41 p4 #bfh4   #f 7p4
 #bgf74 ,e4 ,t4 ,withington1 ,medical   
,history fron41 the ,earliest ,times1   
,london1 #ahid1 p4 #aah4  #g 7p4 #bha74 
,ibid4  #h 7p4 #bha74 ,johann ,hermann  
,bass1 ,history of ,medicine1 ,new      
,york1 #ahhi4  ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,a       
,,retrospective ,,glance ,,at           
,,classical ,,science  7p4 #bih74 ,dion 
,cassius1 as preserved by ,xiphilinus4  
,our extract is quoted from the         
translation given in ,the ,historians'  
,history of the ,world 7edited by ,henry
 ,smith ,williams71 #be vols41 ,london  
and ,new ,york1 #aijd1 ,vol4 ,,vi41 p4  

#big ff4   7,for further bibliographical
 notes1 the reader is referred to the   
,appendix of volume ,v47